Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) is one of 157 public companies in the “Trading Companies & Distributors” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Fastenal to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.
Risk and Volatility
Fastenal has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fastenal’s rivals have a beta of 1.32, meaning that their average share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Fastenal and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Fastenal | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2.36 |
| Fastenal Competitors | 1469 | 4921 | 6736 | 242 | 2.43 |
Fastenal presently has a consensus target price of $51.46, suggesting a potential downside of 6.82%. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies have a potential upside of 8.38%. Given Fastenal’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Fastenal has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.
Dividends
Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal pays out 83.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.6% and pay out 34.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Fastenal has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years. Fastenal lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Fastenal and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Fastenal | $8.20 billion | $1.26 billion | 44.54 |
| Fastenal Competitors | $6.67 billion | $363.16 million | 33.42 |
Fastenal has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Fastenal is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
81.4% of Fastenal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.5% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Fastenal shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.3% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Fastenal and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Fastenal | 15.62% | 35.13% | 26.95% |
| Fastenal Competitors | 1.10% | -33.71% | 3.55% |
Summary
Fastenal rivals beat Fastenal on 8 of the 15 factors compared.
About Fastenal
Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.
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