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

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 13,220,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the September 15th total of 14,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

Fastenal stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $77.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,758,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,369,108. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.02. The company has a market cap of $44.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $56.41 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nicholas J. Lundquist sold 22,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.15, for a total value of $1,738,343.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 426,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,865,900. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nicholas J. Lundquist sold 22,532 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.15, for a total value of $1,738,343.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 426,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,865,900. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,331 shares of company stock valued at $11,705,854 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. American Trust purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 196,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,739,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $975,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,519,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.