Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Short Interest Up 6.5% in December

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) saw a large increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

FAST traded up $1.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.08. 7,826,844 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,262. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

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

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.