W.W. Grainger (GWW) Competitors

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) are both large-cap trading companies & distributors companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings and dividends.

Is GWW or FAST more profitable?

Fastenal has a net margin of 15.30% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 10.99%. W.W. Grainger's return on equity of 49.63% beat Fastenal's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
W.W. Grainger	10.99%	49.63%	21.63%
Fastenal	15.30%	32.33%	24.62%

Do analysts rate GWW or FAST?

W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus price target of $1,080.38, suggesting a potential upside of 6.54%. Fastenal has a consensus price target of $46.36, suggesting a potential downside of 6.64%. Given W.W. Grainger's higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe W.W. Grainger is more favorable than Fastenal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
W.W. Grainger	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17
Fastenal	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Do institutionals and insiders believe in GWW or FAST?

80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.4% of Fastenal shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Fastenal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, GWW or FAST?

W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fastenal has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, GWW or FAST?

W.W. Grainger has higher revenue and earnings than Fastenal. W.W. Grainger 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
W.W. Grainger	$17.17B	2.83	$1.91B	$39.41	25.73
Fastenal	$7.55B	7.55	$1.15B	$1.04	47.75

Does the media favor GWW or FAST?

In the previous week, W.W. Grainger had 13 more articles in the media than Fastenal. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for W.W. Grainger and 19 mentions for Fastenal. W.W. Grainger's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Fastenal's score of 1.39 indicating that W.W. Grainger is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
W.W. Grainger	28 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Fastenal	16 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is GWW or FAST a better dividend stock?

W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $9.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. W.W. Grainger pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years and Fastenal has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years.

Summary

W.W. Grainger beats Fastenal on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.