Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Short Interest Update

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,890,000 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the July 15th total of 15,960,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.90 on Monday, reaching $66.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,969,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,607,290. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.91. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.28 per share, for a total transaction of $31,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $195,459,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Fastenal by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,763 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

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.