Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Short Interest Update

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

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

FAST traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.64. 2,758,059 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,369,108. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $56.41 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $44.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,264.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,331 shares of company stock valued at $11,705,854. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580,478 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,185,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,757,000 after buying an additional 1,006,402 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,522,000 after buying an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after acquiring an additional 636,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,659,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

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.