Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Short Interest Update

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,050,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the December 31st total of 11,310,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 63,772 shares of company stock worth $5,365,455 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,995,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $832,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in Fastenal by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 132,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,528,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 55,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.2 %

FAST traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.84. 514,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,194,712. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

About Fastenal

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.