Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 10,737 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 381% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,233 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday. Stephens boosted their target price on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.64.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of FAST opened at $45.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.69 and a 200 day moving average of $39.29. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $46.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 163,200 shares of company stock worth $6,675,975. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 100.0% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 95.0% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% 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, 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.