Fastenal (FAST) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know
In the latest market close, Fastenal (FAST) reached $70.24, with a +0.13% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.48%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.37%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.82%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of industrial and construction fasteners had gained 3.27% over the past month. This has lagged the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 5.61% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.3% in that time.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Fastenal in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.53, signifying a 1.92% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $1.92 billion, indicating a 3.06% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.15 per share and revenue of $7.79 billion, which would represent changes of +6.44% and +6.02%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Fastenal. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 1.24% upward. As of now, Fastenal holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Fastenal is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 32.69. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.44, so one might conclude that Fastenal is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that FAST currently has a PEG ratio of 3.63. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Building Products - Retail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.07 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Building Products - Retail industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 108, positioning it in the top 43% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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Fastenal Company (FAST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
