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Winona, Minnesota-based Fastenal Company (FAST) is a national wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, primarily operating through company-owned stores in North America. The company's current market cap stands at $36 billion, and it is set to announce its Q2 earnings for fiscal 2024 on Friday, July 12.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect Fastenal to report a profit of $0.51 per share, down 1.9% from $0.52 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded or beat Wall Street’s EPS estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on one other occasion.
Fastenal’s EPS of $0.52 for the last reported quarter remained flat year over year, missing the consensus estimate by 1.9%. This downtrend can be attributed to poor demand and weakness in the manufacturing sector.
Looking ahead, analysts expect Fastenal to report an EPS of 2.08 in fiscal 2024, up 3% from $2.02 in fiscal year 2023. Its fiscal 2025 EPS is projected to rise 8.7% annually to $2.26.
FAST’s stock has rallied 5.4% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 22.5% gains and the S&P 500 Industrial Sector SPDR’s (XLI) 12.2% returns over the same time frame.
Along with slow sales, FAST has struggled amid sluggish demand in the industrial sector. Moreover, the company also faces headwinds from poor weather. More recently, Fastenal reported a 1.5% year over year increase in May's organic daily sales, up from April’s 0.7% rise, but still showing a slow growth trend consistent with recent PMI data. The performance of Fastenal’s product segments was mixed, with a 4.1% decline in fastener sales offset by a 7.5% increase in safety products.
Additionally, the company’s stock dropped more than 6% on April 11 after it reported Q1 earnings results. It reported net sales of $1.90 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. While its fasteners sales dropped 4.4% annually, its safety supplies and other product lines showed an 8.3% and 3.9% improvement, respectively.
The current consensus opinion on Fastenal stock is “Hold” overall. Out of 13 analysts covering the stock, two suggest a “Strong Buy,” nine advise a “Hold,” and the remaining two give a “Strong Sell.”
Furthermore, the average analyst price target for Fastenal is $68.90, indicating a potential upside of 9.6% from the current price levels.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
