Fastenal (FAST) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 25th

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.39 per share on Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th.

Fastenal has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 25 years. Fastenal has a payout ratio of 70.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Fastenal to earn $2.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.3%.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $68.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.74. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC boosted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.