William Blair Has Negative Estimate for Fastenal Q1 Earnings

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Equities research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Fastenal in a report issued on Thursday, December 5th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.53 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.54. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Fastenal’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.53 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.19 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.33 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.05 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’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 firm earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.