Fastenal (FAST) Competitors

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) and Tecnoglass (NASDAQ:TGLS) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Do analysts prefer FAST or TGLS?

Fastenal currently has a consensus target price of $46.82, indicating a potential downside of 1.08%. Tecnoglass has a consensus target price of $89.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.94%. Given Tecnoglass' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Tecnoglass is more favorable than Fastenal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fastenal	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36
Tecnoglass	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Which has higher earnings & valuation, FAST or TGLS?

Fastenal has higher revenue and earnings than Tecnoglass. Tecnoglass is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fastenal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fastenal	$7.55B	7.20	$1.15B	$1.04	45.51
Tecnoglass	$955.73M	3.62	$182.88M	$3.89	18.92

Does the media favor FAST or TGLS?

In the previous week, Fastenal had 18 more articles in the media than Tecnoglass. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for Fastenal and 13 mentions for Tecnoglass. Fastenal's average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat Tecnoglass' score of 0.88 indicating that Fastenal is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fastenal	22 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Tecnoglass	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FAST or TGLS?

81.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.3% of Tecnoglass shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Tecnoglass shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is FAST or TGLS a better dividend stock?

Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Tecnoglass pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Fastenal pays out 84.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Tecnoglass pays out 15.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fastenal has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years and Tecnoglass has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Fastenal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, FAST or TGLS?

Fastenal has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tecnoglass has a beta of 1.87, meaning that its share price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FAST or TGLS more profitable?

Tecnoglass has a net margin of 17.82% compared to Fastenal's net margin of 15.30%. Fastenal's return on equity of 32.33% beat Tecnoglass' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fastenal	15.30%	32.33%	24.62%
Tecnoglass	17.82%	27.71%	16.49%

Summary

Fastenal beats Tecnoglass on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.