Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Short Interest Update

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,160,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 12,240,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,558,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Fastenal by 100.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock worth $221,600,000 after buying an additional 1,547,319 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth $101,183,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Fastenal by 301.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,300,000 after buying an additional 1,110,445 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of FAST traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.78. The company had a trading volume of 3,347,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,088. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $74.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal's payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.91.

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.