Zacks Research Decreases Earnings Estimates for Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Fastenal in a report issued on Tuesday, October 29th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now anticipates that the company will earn $2.04 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.05. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Fastenal’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.56 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.57 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.34 on Thursday. Fastenal has a one year low of $58.04 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $44.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,373 shares of company stock worth $13,029,308. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.