Slower-growing Fastenal cut to 'neutral'
Winona-based Fastenal generally is the first public company in Minnesota to release its earnings each quarter, and thus the first to get feedback from analysts.
The seller of industrial and construction supplies reported third-quarter results on Oct. 10. Quarterly sales were up 11.7 percent to $2.8 billion and earnings rose 7.6 percent to $1.27 per share compared with the period a year ago. But growth was slower than expected, especially coming off a weak 2013.
Analyst Robert Barry of Susquehanna Financial Group sees less growth potential in the next 12 months and is finding it harder to see "meaningful multiple expansion in 2015." On Tuesday, he cut his recommendation on Fastenal from "positive" to "neutral."
"The principal driver of our revised investment conclusion is a lower target multiple," he wrote.
Is Twin Cities Housing market back in balance?
A new home sales report showed that the number of Twin Cities listings in September rose 7 percent, but there was a 7 percent decline in home sales. That condition should have produced lower prices but the median home price continued to rise.
Herb Tousley analyzes the local housing market as director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas' Opus College of Business. He told the Star Tribune last week that the rise in the number of homes for sale will result in a better balance between buyers and sellers.
"Buyers will have more choices as the market moves from a seller's market to a normal equilibrium," Tousley said.
Patrick Kennedy
