WINONA, Minn., June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fastenal Company announced today that its board of directors has authorized purchases by the company of up to an additional 500,000 shares of its common stock in transactions on THE NASDAQ or otherwise. Fastenal Company has approximately 151 million shares of common stock outstanding.
The timing of this stock repurchase program was influenced by two factors. The first being the repurchase provides a use for currently available cash and for cash received from employees exercising their stock options during the June to November 2006 time frame, the latter being approximately $12 to 13 million. The second being recent weakness in the equity marketplace and its impact on the price of Fastenal Company stock.
Fastenal sells different types of industrial and construction supplies in ten product categories. These include different types of: threaded fasteners and miscellaneous supplies; tools; metal cutting tool blades; fluid transfer components and accessories for hydraulic and pneumatic power; material handling and storage products; janitorial and paper products; electrical supplies; welding supplies; safety supplies; and raw materials (metals).
As of May 31, 2006, Fastenal operated 1,848 stores in the United States (all 50 states), Canada (all provinces), Puerto Rico (multiple), Mexico (multiple), Singapore (one location), Netherlands (one location), and China (one location) selling to the general public. The Company operates 12 distribution centers located in Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Washington, California, Utah, North Carolina, Kansas, and Ontario, Canada.
Additional information regarding Fastenal Company is available on the Fastenal Company World Wide Web site at http://www.fastenal.com/ .
