Fastenal (FAST) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Friday, January 17th. Analysts expect Fastenal to post earnings of $0.48 per share and revenue of $1,842,560.16 billion for the quarter.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $74.27. 3,286,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,774,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

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.