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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.27.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,826,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,372,262. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average of $73.07. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.36 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,553,400. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in 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.

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