Fastenal Company (FAST) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 28th

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share on Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th.

Fastenal has a dividend payout ratio of 86.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Fastenal to earn $1.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 73.8%.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $51.91 on Monday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The stock has a market cap of $59.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.36 and a 200 day moving average of $47.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Fastenal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Argus upped their price target on Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.46.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.