Construction supplies giant Fastenal saw its Relative Strength (RS) Rating climb to a higher percentile Monday, rising from 63 to 72. The rating bump comes amid changes in the executive suite and just ahead of its first quarter earnings, due Thursday morning. Fastenal stock rose Monday.
Fastenal stock, which had been on a tear for several year, has moved sideways lately, possibly setting up for a fresh run. FAST stock rose 1.6% to about 52.32 in Monday afternoon trading on the stock market today.
Fastenal Stock Approaching Critical Benchmark
The revised 72 RS Rating on IBD MarketSmith means that Fastenal stock is in the top 28% for price performance. It's a welcome improvement but still a few points shy of the 80 RS Rating that CAN SLIM investors look for when searching for the best stocks to buy and watch. See if Fastenal can continue to show renewed price strength and clear that threshold.
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Fastenal operates nearly 1,700 construction supplies stores offering basics such as fasteners and tools for plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration systems, buildings construction and other end markets.
Among other key ratings, Fastenal stock has a 91 Composite Rating, putting it in the top 9% of stocks on a group of five other technical and fundamental ratings. It caries an 89 Earnings Per Share Rating and a top-notch A SMR Rating (sales + profit margins + return on equity), on an A-to-E scale with A tops.
On March 8, the company named eight-year Fastenal veteran Noelle Oas as executive vice president of human resources. Oas succeeds Reyne Wisecup, who recently retired after 34 years with the company.
FAST Stock More Than Doubled From Covid Crash Low
Fastenal stock is building a consolidation with a 60.84 buy point. See if the stock can clear the breakout price in volume at least 40% higher than normal. FAST stock more than doubled from a 26.72 low in late March 2020 amid the Covid market crash, to 64.06 on Dec. 31, 2021. Last year it consolidated amid the market retreat on rising inflation and a series of Fed rate hikes. The stock has shown strength though, trading sideways through the market storm.
Fastenal reported positive though dwindling profit and sales growth every quarter last year, outperforming many peers. Last quarter its earnings rose 8% to 43 cents per share on an 11% increase in sales to $1.696 billion. That followed EPS growth of 27%, 19% and 19%.
Fastenal stock holds the No. 5 rank among its peers in the Machinery-Tools & Related industry group. W.W. Grainger and Xylem are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
The exclusive Relative Strength Rating from Investor's Business Daily identifies market leadership with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The rating shows how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks compares to all the other stocks in our database.
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