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Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) closed yesterday at $42.15. So far the stock has hit a 52-week low of $25.87 and 52-week high of $47.28. Fastenal stock has been showing support around 41.71 and resistance in the 42.85 range. Technical indicators for the stock are Bullish and S&P gives FAST a very positive 5 STA...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Analysts at CL King maintain their "accumulate" rating on Columbus McKinnon Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCO). The target price for CMCO is set to $18.

Columbus McKinnon is scheduled to report its 3Q10 earnings on January 18. “We expect CMCO to report adjusted EPS, excluding restructuring charges, of $0.11, compared to $0.37 in 3Q09,” CL King says. “We view Q3 as a lower-expectation type of quarter, as it is a seasonally weak quarter for Columbus McKinnon given the impact of the holiday season and associated plant shutdowns and that its business is economically-mid cycle in nature, or later to recover,” the analysts add.

“We have a positive view of Columbus McKinnon’s’ prospects. Its end markets appear to be stabilizing, given recently reported monthly sales trends from customer Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) and Grainger (NYSE: GWW),” CL King mentions.

More Analyst Ratings here

We have initiated coverage on Fastenal Co. (FAST) with a Neutral recommendation and a target price of $45. Founded in 1967 and based in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal is a leading national distributor of industrial and construction supplies and has 2,369 stores in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Singapore, China and all 50 states in [...]

(FAST) Fastenal Analyst Coverage Initiated at Neutral

We have initiated coverage on Fastenal Co. (FAST) with a Neutral recommendation and a target price of $45.
 
Founded in 1967 and based in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal is a leading national distributor of industrial and construction supplies and has 2,369 stores in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Singapore, China and all 50 states in the U.S.
 
Fastenal continues to upgrade its inventory management system, initially known as Customer Service Project (CSP), to sell and expand its array of products to the existing and new customer segments. This effort has been well supported by the company’s widespread customer base that belongs to varied markets, which in turn, protects its market position in the economic downtrend.
 
Fastenal’s strong cash flow has helped it to increase its fourth quarter dividend by 14% to 40 cents per share, compared to the first quarter of 2009, besides repurchasing shares.
 
However, the weakened economy continues to affect Fastenal, primarily in the industrial production and non-residential construction businesses. In 2009, sales to manufacturing customers contracted 18.8% and to non-residential construction reduced 25%. Further, the company’s near-term profitability has been adversely affected by the slow profit generation from its newly opened stores.
 
Consequently, we do not anticipate a significant upside in the near future and expect the stock to perform in line with the broader market.
Read the full analyst report on "FAST"
Zacks Investment Research

We have initiated coverage on Fastenal Co. (FAST) with a Neutral recommendation and a target price of $45.   Founded in 1967 and based in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal is a leading national distributor of industrial and construction supplies and has 2,369 stores in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Singapore, China and all 50 states in ...

Low Sweat Investing submits:

With 2009 finally banished from the calendar, the Wall Street Journal reported, through Friday, a torrent of 2010 dividend increases. All are worth a look, and some are better than others.

So here’s a quick take on some royalty and riches in recent dividend news, at least from where I’m sitting.

Complete Story »

Fastenal flies under many radars despite being a $7 billion company that operates over 2,300 retail stores throughout North America, Singapore and China.

Analyst Thomas L Hayes of Piper Jaffray reiterates his “overweight” rating on Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST). The target price for FAST is set to $54.

Fastenal is poised for robust growth over the next couple of years, the analyst believes. FAST is Piper Jaffray’s “favorite large-cap name.” Although the company suffered unexpected gross margin contraction in 4Q, this was not on account of any weakness in business conditions. Thus, margins should expand sequentially throughout this year.

With manufacturing stabilizing, Fastenal’s 1H10 performance is likely to be driven by expense leverage. This will result in margin growth in 2H10 when FAST returns to top-line growth, boosted by its store opening program, the analyst explains.

More Analyst Ratings here

There are more choices for capitalizing on reinvesting dividends.

Dr. Duru submits:

Looking for signs of life in the commercial real-estate (CRE) business has now become an earnings season ritual for me. If construction activity serves as a leading indicator of CRE’s future health, then Fastenal’s report on fourth quarter and annual earnings demonstrates once again that CRE continues to deteriorate, not improve. Fastenal (FAST) reported “…continued weakening in our non-residential construction business.” The industrial production business provided the other main drag on FAST’s business. Here are some specifics (emphasis mine):

As we saw in the previous twelve months, the weakened economy continues to have a substantial impact on our business. These impacts continue to negatively affect our sales, particularly related to our industrial production business (business where we supply products that become part of the finished goods produced by others) and, as the year progressed, our non-residential construction business. To place this in perspective — sales to our manufacturing customers (historically approximately 50% of sales) contracted approximately 10.1% in the fourth quarter and 18.8% for the year versus the same periods in 2008. This contraction is less severe in the maintenance portion of our manufacturing sales (business where we supply products that maintain the facility or the equipment of our customers engaged in manufacturing), but more severe in the production business. Our non-residential construction business (historically 20% to 25% of sales) contracted approximately 24.7% in the fourth quarter and 19.4% for the year versus the same periods in 2008.

Complete Story »

Fastenal Co. (FAST) of Winona, Minnesota has revealed earnings of $45 million or 30 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009. This was a tad lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents per share. However, net income declined 29% from $63 million or 42 cents per share in the fourth [...]

(FAST) Fastenal Barely Misses Earnings Expectations

Fastenal Co. (FAST) of Winona, Minnesota has revealed earnings of $45 million or 30 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009. This was a tad lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents per share. However, net income declined 29% from $63 million or 42 cents per share in the fourth ...

Fastenal Co. (FAST) of Winona, Minnesota has revealed earnings of $45 million or 30 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009. This was a tad lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents per share.

However, net income declined 29% from $63 million or 42 cents per share in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Net sales in the quarter fell 12.5% to $476,750.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, earnings were $184 million or $1.24 per share. This also came close to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25 per share. Compared to the year-ago level, earnings dipped 34% from $280 million or $1.88 per share in 2008. Sales decreased 17.5% to $1.93 billion in the year.

The decline in sales and earnings was attributable to weakened economy, primarily affecting the company’s industrial production and non-residential construction businesses. Sales to manufacturing customers (accounting for 50% of sales historically) contracted 10% in the fourth quarter and 18.8% in the year. The non-residential construction business (accounting for 20%–25% of sales historically) contracted 25% in the fourth quarter and 19% for the year.

During 2009, Fastenal opened 69 stores compared to 161 stores in 2008. The company has closed 10 stores and converted one location to a customer only type. Thus, the company had 2,369 stores on December 31, 2009.

In the fourth quarter, Fastenal repurchased 1.1 million shares of its outstanding stock at an average price of about $37.37 per share for the first time of the year. This was part of repurchase authorization of up to 2 million shares of common stock announced on July 10, 2009. The authorization replaced any unused authorization previously granted by the Board of Directors.

Fastenal had cash and cash equivalents of $165 million as on December 31, 2009, compared to $86 million as on December 31, 2008. In 2009, the company had cash flow of $306 million from operating activities, an improvement from $260 million in the prior-year period. The strong cash flow has helped the company to increase its fourth quarter dividend by 14% to 40 cents per share, payable in February 2010, compared to dividend in the first quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, capital expenditures reduced to $53 million from $95 million in the year-ago period. This was attributable to absence of any expansion-related expenditure in the second half of 2009 (such as for expansion of distribution centers in Indianapolis and Dallas in 2008 and in the first half of 2009) as well as lower capital expenditures for computer software and equipment, real estate, and vehicles. In 2010, the company expects capital expenditures to decline further to $40 million.

The market appears to be discounting the company’s better cash flow and focusing instead on its vulnerability to persistent economic weakness and unemployment. We recommend the shares of the company as Neutral.

Fastenal Company operates as a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies. The company primarily serves manufacturing markets, which include both original equipment manufacturers and maintenance and repair operations, as well as the construction market. It operates stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, China and the Netherlands.

Read the full analyst report on "FAST"
Zacks Investment Research

Losers were few and far between on Tuesday, so to see a loser falling on heavy volume is particularly concerning. Not that it was the proverbial nail in the coffin for any of these names, but Fastenal Company (Nasdaq: FAST), Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH), Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: DFG), and Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) were the day’s high-volume losers.

Here are the vital stats.

• Fastenal Company: Lower by 2.3% on 259% more volume than normal.
• Community Health Systems, Inc.: Down 2.7% on 258% more activity than usual.
• Blackboard Inc.: Off by 3.7% on a 210% in average trading activity.
• Delphi Financial Group, Inc.: Fell 2.6% on a volume increase of 199%.
• Baidu, Inc.: Down 5.7% on 199% more trading activity than normal.

Fastenal Company (FAST)

Q4 2009 Earnings Call

January 19, 2010 10:00 am ET

Complete Story »

Fastenal Company (FAST)

Q4 2009 Earnings Call

January 19, 2010 10:00 am ET

Complete Story »

Question-and-Answer SessionOperator Operator Instructions Your first question comes from David Manthey - Robert W. Baird. David Manthey - Robert W. Baird Can you give us your thoughts on pathway to profit, do you have a new target for when you believe you can achieve the 23% EBIT margin, and...

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