Let's talk about the popular Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST). The company's shares saw a decent share price growth of 15% on the NASDAQGS over the last few months. The company's trading levels have approached the yearly peak, following the recent bounce in the share price. As a large-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s take a look at Fastenal’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

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What's The Opportunity In Fastenal?

According to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average, the stock currently looks expensive. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Fastenal’s ratio of 40.9x is above its peer average of 20.28x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Trade Distributors industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that Fastenal’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

View our latest analysis for Fastenal

Can we expect growth from Fastenal?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. Fastenal's earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 31%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? FAST’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe FAST should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on FAST for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for FAST, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Fastenal and we think they deserve your attention.

If you are no longer interested in Fastenal, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St 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. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.