Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,160,000 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the August 31st total of 16,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of Fastenal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $50.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.
Fastenal Trading Up 0.4 %
Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $54.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.51. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $43.73 and a 1 year high of $59.43. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.16.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.
Fastenal Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 27th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 26th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.07%.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total transaction of $1,110,843.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,135,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Ancius bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.53 per share, for a total transaction of $28,765.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 28,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,850.45. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 19,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.78, for a total transaction of $1,110,843.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,135,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 45,154,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,637,000 after buying an additional 138,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,122,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,215,000 after buying an additional 446,106 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 18.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,407,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,655,000 after buying an additional 2,075,023 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Fastenal by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,243,000 after buying an additional 2,492,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,249,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,374,000 after buying an additional 1,537,417 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.47% of the company’s stock.
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, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.