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Fastenal (FAST) Shares Rise on Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat

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Fastenal Company (FAST - Free Report) started 2022 on a solid note. The company’s earnings and revenues not only beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but also improved on a year-over-year basis, given strong demand for manufacturing and construction equipment and supplies along with higher pricing.

Fastenal’s shares jumped more than 3.2% in the pre-market trading session on Apr 13, after it reported the results.

Earnings & Sales in Detail

The company reported earnings of 47 cents per share, which topped the consensus mark of 44 cents by 6.8% and grew 27.8% from the year-ago period.

Net sales totaled $1,704.1 million, beating the consensus mark of $1,682 million by 1.3% and increasing 20.3% from the year-ago figure of $1,417 million.

It reported daily sales of $26.6 million, reflecting an increase of 18.4% year over year for the quarter. The upside was mainly due to higher unit sales of most products to traditional manufacturing and construction customers, stemming from an improvement in business activity. On a monthly basis, daily sales improved 19.1%, 21.3% and 14.9% in March, February and January, respectively, year over year.

Daily sales of Fastener products (mainly used for industrial production and accounting for approximately 34.3% of first-quarter sales) rose 24.6% year over year, backed by higher manufacturing and construction demand as well as increased pricing. Sales of safety products (accounting for 21% of first-quarter sales) grew 15.3% on a daily basis. The upside was mainly driven by solid growth and higher pricing for traditional manufacturing and construction clients. Sales of the remaining products (accounting for 44.7% of fourth-quarter sales) grew 14.8% year over year.

Vending Trends & Other Growth Drivers

Fastenal signed 106 new Onsite locations during the quarter. As of Mar 31, 2022, the company had 1,440 active sites, up 12.1% from the year-ago period. Daily sales through Onsite locations (excluding sales transferred from branches to new Onsites) increased more than 20% from a year ago.

FAST continues to expect 375-400 annual Onsite signings in 2022.

Daily sales through weighted FMI devices grew 46% for the first quarter and represented 35.4% of net sales.

Daily sales to national account customers (representing 57.1% of total quarterly revenues) increased 22.8% on a year-over-year basis for first-quarter 2022. Daily sales to non-national account customers (which include government customers and represent 42.9% of total quarterly revenues) rose 13% from the prior-year quarter.

Fastenal Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Fastenal Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Fastenal Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fastenal Company Quote

Margins

Gross margin of 46.6% for the quarter improved 120 basis points or bps from the prior-year period. The improvement was driven by a higher product margin related to safety products and the absence of a write-down.

Also, operating margin improved 120 bps to 21% from the year-ago figure of 19.8%.

Financials

Cash and cash equivalents were $234.2 million as of Mar 31, 2021, slightly down from $236.2 million on Dec 31, 2021. Long-term debt at quarter-end was $330 million, same as 2021-end.

For the first three months of 2022, cash provided by operating activities totaled $230 million compared with $274.8 million in the year-ago period.

Zacks Rank

Fastenal currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some Better-Ranked Stocks in Broader Sector

Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector include Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR - Free Report) , BBQ Holdings, Inc. , and Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY - Free Report) .

Builders FirstSource currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. Shares of BLDR have gained 6.2% in the past six months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLDR’s 2022 earnings per share (EPS) has moved north to $9.29 from $8.91 over the past 30 days.

BBQ Holdings presently sports a Zacks Rank #1. BBQ Holdings projects long-term earnings growth of 14%. Shares of the company have gained 41.5% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBQ Holdings’ 2022 sales and EPS suggests growth of 40.9% and 66.2%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Dave & Buster's sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 212%, on average. Shares of PLAY have declined 4.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dave & Buster's sales and EPS for the current year suggests growth of 24.4% and 49.3%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.


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