Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Fastenal and NPK International, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Fastenal | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.31 |
| NPK International | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
Fastenal presently has a consensus target price of $49.50, indicating a potential downside of 1.16%. NPK International has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 53.13%. Given NPK International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NPK International is more favorable than Fastenal.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
Volatility & Risk
Fastenal has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NPK International has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Fastenal and NPK International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Fastenal | 15.45% | 34.03% | 26.16% |
| NPK International | 14.19% | 11.31% | 9.24% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Fastenal and NPK International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Fastenal | $8.20 billion | 7.01 | $1.26 billion | $1.18 | 42.44 |
| NPK International | $277.04 million | 3.60 | $38.94 million | $0.50 | 23.51 |
Fastenal has higher revenue and earnings than NPK International. NPK International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fastenal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Fastenal beats NPK International on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Fastenal
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. It also offers miscellaneous supplies and hardware, including pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire ropes, strut products, rivets, and related accessories. The company serves the manufacturing market comprising original equipment manufacturers; maintenance, repair, and operations customers; non-residential construction market; farmers, truckers, railroads, mining companies, schools, and retail trades; and oil exploration, production, and refinement companies, as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities. Fastenal Company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota.
About NPK International
NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
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