Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Fastenal Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today
How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Fastenal (FAST) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to FAST for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Fastenal's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Fastenal's main business drivers.
Based in Winona, MN, Fastenal Company is a national wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company distributes its products through more than 3,200 company-owned stores, primarily located in North America.
Fastenal derives sales from the fastener product line and the other product line. The fastener product line comprises two kinds of products, threaded fasteners and miscellaneous industrial and construction supplies and hardware. Threaded fasteners include products like bolts, nuts, screws, studs and related washers. Miscellaneous industrial and construction supplies and hardware include various pins and machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire rope, strut, rivets and related accessories. Threaded fasteners are used in most manufactured products and building projects, and for the maintenance and repair of machines and structures.
The other product line includes tools, cutting tools, material handling, janitorial, electrical, safety and welding supplies and many more.
Fastenal mainly serves customers in the manufacturing and non-residential construction markets. In the manufacturing market, its customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and maintenance and repair operations (MRO). In the non-residential construction market, it serves general, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal and road contractors.
Fastenal ended 2023 with cash and cash equivalents of $221.3 million, up from $230.1 million at 2022-end. Solid cash flow enabled FAST to lower debt in the said period. Total debt was $260 million at the end of 2023, or 7.2% of total capital. This compares to $555 million, or 14.9% of total capital, in 2022. During 2023, FAST returned $1,016.8 million to its shareholders in the form of dividends.
Bottom Line
Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Fastenal, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in March 2014 would be worth $3,094.02, or a gain of 209.40%, as of March 18, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
The S&P 500 rose 177.93% and the price of gold increased 51.71% over the same time frame in comparison.
Analysts are anticipating more upside for FAST.
Shares of Fastenal have outperformed its industry in the past year. The company is benefiting from daily sales growth, reasonable expense control and lower net interest expense. Also, growth at onsite locations, with active sites increasing 12.3% at 2023-end, added to the uptrend. The increased number of onsite locations is likely to expand its market share. Fastenal expects 375-400 annual signings in 2024. Moreover, its cost-control initiatives and focus on FAST Solutions bode well. It projects weighted FASTVend and FASTBin device signings within 26,000-28,000 MEUs for 2024, indicating an increase from 24,126 MEUs signed in 2023. Earnings estimates for 2024 have increased in the past 30 days, depicting analysts’ optimism. Yet, unfavorable customer and product mix, higher occupancy-related expenses and currency risks remain concerns.
The stock has jumped 6.82% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 5 higher, for fiscal 2024; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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Fastenal Company (FAST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
