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

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,130,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the August 15th total of 13,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.20. The company had a trading volume of 253,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,409,134. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.50. The stock has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $53.83 and a 52-week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.43.

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.