S&P Equity Research Picks Fastenal Co. Focus Stock Of The Week

NEW YORK, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Fastenal Co. (FAST: $52) has been picked by Standard & Poor's Equity Research as its Focus Stock of the Week.  FAST carries S&P's highest investment recommendation of 5-STARS, or Strong Buy.

"Although prospects for the U.S. economy have recently grown more uncertain, we still expect Fastenal's business to continue its recent revival," said Michael Jaffe, Industrials Analyst at Standard & Poor's Equity Research.  "We see the company being aided by the likely benefits of its decision to shift its business model in 2007 towards a smaller number of store openings per year, but with larger stores and sales staffs."  

Jaffe believes Fastenal is a well managed company and thinks that this new operating strategy will enable it to leverage its store expenses as the sales base increases at individual sites.  He also points to the company's very healthy balance sheet, with no long-term debt as of March 31, 2010, as a positive for the company.  The company is scheduled to report second quarter earnings on Tuesday, July 13.

"In looking at Fastenal's longer-term prospects, we think it still has considerable room for expansion in North America, where nearly all of its stores are currently located," Mr. Jaffe said.  "The company was operating 2,400 sites at May 31, 2010 and believes that North America could support at least 3,500 stores.  While expansion outside of North America is still in its infant stage, we think it provides the company with a platform for substantial expansion in the future."

To view a video of Mr. Jaffe discussing FAST paste the following link into your browser.  

http://link.delvenetworks.com/media/?mediaId=30931eab45b74858b5764fd341696a78&width=480&height=411&playerForm=DelvePlayer

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