Does The Data Make Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) An Attractive Investment?

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Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) is a company with exceptional fundamental characteristics. Upon building up an investment case for a stock, we should look at various aspects. In the case of FAST, it is a financially-robust , dividend-paying company with a an impressive history of performance. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, read the full report on Fastenal here.

Excellent balance sheet established dividend payer

In the previous year, FAST has ramped up its bottom line by 30%, with its latest earnings level surpassing its average level over the last five years. This illustrates a strong track record, leading to a satisfying return on equity of 33%. which paints a buoyant picture for the company. FAST is financially robust, with ample cash on hand and short-term investments to meet upcoming liabilities. This suggests prudent control over cash and cost by management, which is an important determinant of the company’s health. FAST appears to have made good use of debt, producing operating cash levels of 1.35x total debt in the prior year. This is a strong indication that debt is reasonably met with cash generated.

FAST is also a dividend company, with ample net income to cover its dividend payout, which has been consistently growing over the past decade, keeping income investors happy.

Next Steps:

For Fastenal, I've put together three relevant factors you should look at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for FAST’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for FAST’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is FAST worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether FAST is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of FAST? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.