William Blair Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) – Stock analysts at William Blair increased their Q2 2023 earnings estimates for Fastenal in a research note issued on Thursday, January 19th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will earn $0.53 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.51. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $1.92 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Fastenal’s Q3 2023 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $1.95 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $2.04 EPS.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 34.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.83.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $49.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.18. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $43.73 and a fifty-two week high of $60.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts bought 5,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.58 per share, with a total value of $300,445.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at $300,445.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 1st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Fastenal Company Profile

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Fastenal Co engages in the provision of fasteners, tools, and supplies which can help manufacture products, build structures, protect personnel, and maintain facilities and equipment. Its products include cutting tools and metalworking, fasteners, material handling, storage and packaging power, transmission and motors, tools and equipment, electricals, abrasives, hydraulics and pneumatics, plumbing, lifting and rigging, raw materials, fleet and automotive, welding, office products and furniture, and janitorial supplies.