Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $679,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 20.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 3.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.3% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 10.7% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 359,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,590,000 after acquiring an additional 34,896 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ FAST traded up $1.31 on Friday, hitting $76.08. 7,826,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,372,262. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted 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 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

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.