Short Interest in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Decreases By 5.9%

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,030,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 12,780,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $465,667.05. This trade represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.69. 712,573 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,225,249. The stock has a market cap of $44.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.63 and its 200 day moving average is $71.47. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

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.