Post-Earnings Coverage - Fastenal

LONDON, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Editor Note: For more information about this release, please scroll to bottom.

Investor-Edge.com has issued free post-earnings coverage on Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST). On April 14, 2015, the company announced its financial results for Q1 FY15 (period ended March 31, 2015). Click on http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST to read our free earnings review on Fastenal Co. (Fastenal). During Q1 FY15, the company reported net sales growth of 8.8% Y-o-Y and net earnings growth of 14.0% Y-o-Y, while net earnings per basic share improved 13.2% Y-o-Y. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST

Earnings Overview 

During Q1 FY15, Fastenal's net sales increased to $953.32 million from $876.50 million in Q1 FY14. The company's net sales were impacted by slight inflationary price changes in the non-fastener products and some price deflation in the fastener products, but the net impact was a drag on growth. The company's net sales for Q1 FY15 outperformed Bloomberg analysts' forecast of $950.91 million. The company's daily sales growth in the reported quarter was 8.8% versus sales growth of 8.7% in Q1 FY14. Fastenal's daily average sales for Q1 FY15 were $15,132 compared to $13,913 in Q1 FY14.

For Q1 FY15, Fastenal's cost of sales stood at $469.27 million compared to $428.02 million in Q1 FY14. The company reported gross profit of $484.05 million in Q1 FY15 compared to $448.48 million in Q1 FY14. Further, Fastenal's gross profit margin for Q1 FY15 came in at 50.8% compared to 51.2% in Q1 FY14. Free research on FAST can be downloaded in PDF format at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST

In Q1 FY15, the company's operating and administrative expenses were $280.39 million versus $269.84 million in Q1 FY14. Furthermore, Fastenal's Q1 FY15 operating income increased to $203.77 million from $178.85 million in Q1 FY14.

For Q1 FY15, Fastenal reported EBIT of $203.51 million, or 21.4% of net sales, compared to $178.85 million, or 20.4% of net sales, in Q1 FY14. The company's net earnings for Q1 FY15 were $127.61 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared to $111.93 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in Q1 FY14. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected the company to report net earnings of $123.17 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, in the reported quarter. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on FAST at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST

Fastenal generated $180.11 million (or 141.1% of net earnings) of operating cash flow in Q1 FY15 compared to $143.30 million in Q1 FY14. As of March 31, 2015, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $120.79 million compared to $89.02 million as on March 31, 2014.

During Q1 FY14 and Q1 FY15, the company purchased 200,000 and 2 million shares, respectively, of its common stock at an average price of approximately $44.24 and $40.93 per share, respectively. On March 26, 2015 Fastenal's Board of Directors authorized purchase of up to 4 million additional shares of its common stock after its existing stock purchase authorization exhausted in Q1 FY15. Additionally, till date, the company has not purchased any shares of its common stock under this new authorization.

On April 13, 2015, Fastenal's Board declared quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share for Q2 FY15, which is payable on May 26, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 28, 2015. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on FAST at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST

Stock Performance  

On the day of the earnings release, April 14, 2015, Fastenal's stock surged 4.44% to end the session at $41.80. Since then, the stock has moved both ways. On the last close, Friday, April 24, 2015, shares of the company finished at $41.63, down 1.05%, after vacillating between $41.18 and $41.87. A total of 2.61 million shares were traded which was below their three months average volume of 3.55 million shares. The stock has advanced 0.90% in the previous three trading sessions. However, over the last one month and the past three months, the company's shares have fallen by 0.62% and 10.07%, respectively. Shares in Fastenal closed above their 50-day a moving average of $41.49. Furthermore, the stock traded at a PE ratio of 24.24 and has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 52.75.

Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading 

In the last one month, Fastenal has not reported any share transactions by insiders to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Complimentary in-depth research on FAST is available at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fastenal&d=27-Apr-2015&s=FAST

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