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Valued at a market cap of $45.4 billion, Fastenal Company (FAST) engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies. The Winona, Minnesota-based company derives sales from its fastener product line and the other product line, which it distributes mostly through its company-owned stores primarily located in North America.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap” stocks, and Fastenal fits right into that category with its market cap exceeding this threshold. The Industrial supplies company also offers services including third-party logistics, inventory management, manufacturing, and tool repair and is renowned for selling a wide range of fasteners, including screws, nuts, bolts, and threaded rods.
FAST is currently trading 6.9% below its 52-week high of $84.88, reached on Nov. 11. Shares of this logistics company soared 13.2% over the past three months, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.1% returns during the same time frame.
However, in the longer term, FAST has gained 23.7% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming SPX’s 30.3% returns. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of FAST are up 22%, lagging behind SPX’s 26.9% gains over the same time frame.
To confirm its recent bullish trend, FAST has been trading above its 200-day and 50-day moving average since early September.
On Oct. 11, shares of FAST surged 9.8% despite delivering mixed Q3 earnings results. The company’s adjusted EPS of $0.52 remained flat year-over-year but came in line with the consensus estimates, while its revenue increased 3.5% annually to $1.91 billion but slightly fell short of the Wall Street estimates. Strong sales growth from larger clients and new onsite locations was partially offset by the disruption caused by Hurricane Helene to operations and logistics in the company's Southeast and Atlantic Coastal areas.
FAST has lagged behind its rival, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW), which gained 39.9% over the past 52 weeks and nearly 38.7% on a YTD basis.
Despite FAST’s recent outperformance, analysts remain cautious about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” from the 15 analysts covering it, and as of writing, the stock is trading above its mean price target of $78.92.
