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

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) 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 shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,880,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,300,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,199,150,000 after buying an additional 592,583 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,214,002,000 after buying an additional 234,713 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,275,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after buying an additional 74,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,006,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,037,959. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.17. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

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.