Shares of Fastenal Company (FAST) recently witnessed a 6.32% decline to $47.70 on Jun 05, 2013, following the release of its sales information for the month of May. The company reported drastic year-over-year decline in daily sales for May 2013.
Fastenal’s daily sales growth rates came in at 5.3% for the month of May, significantly down from the daily growth rate of 13.1% in the corresponding prior-year month. Foreign exchange dragged May daily sales by 0.1%. A decline in non-residential construction customers also adversely impacted sales.
The company has been witnessing consistent decline in daily sales growth rates for the past few quarters. The sequential change in daily sales for 12 months from January to December also fell short of historical averages. The declining daily sales rates are due to lower sales of its fasteners product line, overall weak non-residential construction market and the uncertainty in U.S economic policy.
In fact, the company reported weak daily sales growth in the first quarter of 2013, despite year-over-year growth in earnings and revenues. Following the release of its first quarter 2013 earnings, Fastenal witnessed downward movement of estimates in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2013 declined 2.4% to $1.60 over the last 60 days whereas the same for fiscal 2014 declined 2.6% to $1.86 over the last 60 days.
Fastenal carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
However, with the overall housing market improving steadily, other companies in the sector are also performing well. These include Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (LL), Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) and The Home Depot, Inc. (HD). While Lumber carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), The Home Depot and Builders FirstSource carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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