Watsco (WSO) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer FAST or WSO?

In the previous week, Fastenal had 14 more articles in the media than Watsco. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for Fastenal and 11 mentions for Watsco. Watsco's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat Fastenal's score of 1.30 indicating that Watsco is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fastenal	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Watsco	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FAST or WSO?

Fastenal has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Watsco. Watsco 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	7.65	$1.15B	$1.04	48.34
Watsco	$7.62B	2.15	$536.29M	$13.04	30.93

Is FAST or WSO a better dividend stock?

Fastenal pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Watsco pays an annual dividend of $12.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. 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. Watsco pays out 92.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Fastenal has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years and Watsco has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate FAST or WSO?

Fastenal presently has a consensus target price of $46.82, suggesting a potential downside of 6.87%. Watsco has a consensus target price of $484.17, suggesting a potential upside of 20.04%. Given Watsco's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Watsco 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
Watsco	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FAST or WSO?

81.4% of Fastenal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Watsco shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Fastenal shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Watsco shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, FAST or WSO?

Fastenal has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Watsco has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FAST or WSO more profitable?

Fastenal has a net margin of 15.30% compared to Watsco's net margin of 7.08%. Fastenal's return on equity of 32.33% beat Watsco's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fastenal	15.30%	32.33%	24.62%
Watsco	7.08%	16.96%	11.69%

Summary

Fastenal beats Watsco on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.