Fastenal (FAST) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate TGLS or FAST?

Tecnoglass currently has a consensus price target of $83.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.56%. Fastenal has a consensus price target of $48.45, indicating a potential upside of 11.98%. Given Fastenal's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fastenal is more favorable than Tecnoglass.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tecnoglass	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Fastenal	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.08

Does the media prefer TGLS or FAST?

In the previous week, Fastenal had 27 more articles in the media than Tecnoglass. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for Fastenal and 4 mentions for Tecnoglass. Tecnoglass' average media sentiment score of 0.48 beat Fastenal's score of 0.34 indicating that Tecnoglass is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Tecnoglass	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Fastenal	4 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is TGLS or FAST more profitable?

Tecnoglass has a net margin of 17.82% compared to Fastenal's net margin of 15.13%. Fastenal's return on equity of 31.99% beat Tecnoglass' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tecnoglass	17.82%	27.71%	16.49%
Fastenal	15.13%	31.99%	24.36%

Which has more risk and volatility, TGLS or FAST?

Tecnoglass has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fastenal has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, TGLS or FAST?

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
Tecnoglass	$919.84M	3.80	$182.88M	$3.70	20.11
Fastenal	$7.55B	6.58	$1.15B	$1.00	43.27

Is TGLS or FAST a better dividend stock?

Tecnoglass pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Tecnoglass pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fastenal pays out 88.0% 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 has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Fastenal has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years. Fastenal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

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

37.3% of Tecnoglass shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Tecnoglass shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Fastenal beats Tecnoglass on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.