Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,140,000 shares, a decline of 8.6% from the March 31st total of 18,750,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 283.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.48. 2,822,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,986,132. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.85 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.