Head-To-Head Comparison: ZKH Group (NYSE:ZKH) versus Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

ZKH Group (NYSE:ZKH) and Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ZKH Group and Fastenal, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ZKH Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
Fastenal	0	4	1	0	2.20

ZKH Group currently has a consensus price target of $21.30, indicating a potential upside of 77.35%. Fastenal has a consensus price target of $67.67, indicating a potential downside of 0.46%. Given ZKH Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ZKH Group is more favorable than Fastenal.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ZKH Group and Fastenal’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ZKH Group	$1.23 billion	1.26	-$42.86 million	N/A	N/A
Fastenal	$7.35 billion	5.28	$1.16 billion	$2.02	33.54

Fastenal has higher revenue and earnings than ZKH Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.5% of ZKH Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Fastenal shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ZKH Group and Fastenal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ZKH Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fastenal	15.68%	33.98%	25.49%

Summary

Fastenal beats ZKH Group on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ZKH Group

ZKH Group Limited develops and operates a maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products trading and service platform that offers spare parts, chemicals, manufacturing parts, general consumables, and office supplies in the People's Republic of China. The company also provides MRO procurement and management services; digitalized MRO procurement solutions; and logistics and warehousing services. Further, it engages in the production and sale of intelligent warehousing equipment. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company's fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines. It also offers miscellaneous supplies and hardware, including pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire ropes, strut products, rivets, and related accessories. The company serves the manufacturing market comprising original equipment manufacturers; maintenance, repair, and operations customers; non-residential construction market; farmers, truckers, railroads, mining companies, schools, and retail trades; and oil exploration, production, and refinement companies, as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities. Fastenal Company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota.