Fastenal Company (FAST): Today's Featured Materials & Construction Laggard

Fastenal Company (FAST) pushed the Materials & Construction industry lower today making it today's featured Materials & Construction laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day up 0.2%. By the end of trading, Fastenal Company fell 66 cents (-1.5%) to $42.88 on light volume. Throughout the day, one million shares of Fastenal Company exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 2.3 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $42.65-$43.48 after having opened the day at $43.38 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $43.54. Other companies within the Materials & Construction industry that declined today were: Nobility Homes (NOBH), down 10.4%, Perma-Fix Environmental Services (PESI), down 7.5%, Integrated Electrical Services (IESC), down 6.8%, and Clean Harbors (CLH), down 6.7%.

• ACTIVE STOCK TRADERS: Check out TheStreet's special offer for Real Money, headlined by Jim Cramer, now!

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies in the United States and internationally. Fastenal Company has a market cap of $12.65 billion and is part of the industrial goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 31.9, above the average materials & construction industry P/E ratio of 31.6 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 0.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday. Currently there are no analysts that rate Fastenal Company a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and seven rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Fastenal Company as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company is trading at a premium valuation based on our review of its current price compared to such things as earnings and book value.

• You can view the full Fastenal Ratings Report.

On the positive front, Guanwei Recycling (GPRC), up 8.8%, Gafisa (GFA), up 8.1%, MYR Group (MYRG), up 6.3%, and AAON (AAON), up 5.1%, were all gainers within the materials & construction industry with Fluor Corporation (FLR) being today's featured materials & construction industry leader.

• Use our materials & construction section to find industry-relevant news.
• Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the materials & construction industry could consider SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) while those bearish on the materials & construction industry could consider ProShares Short Basic Materials Fd (SBM).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Fastenal Company click any of the following:

• Fastenal Company Stock Price

• Fastenal Company Analyst Ratings

• Fastenal Company Key Stats & Profile

• Fastenal Company Earnings

• Fastenal Company Ratio Comparison

• Fastenal Company Growth Rates

• Fastenal Company Balance Sheet

• Fastenal Company Cash Flow

• Fastenal Company Income Statement