UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Initiates Buy, $51 PT on Fastenal Company on Initiatives Offsetting Slowdown in Economy

Wunderlich Securities initiates its coverage on Fastenal Company

with a Buy rating and a price target of $51. Wunderlich Securities notes, "While Fastenal currently trades at a substantial premium to peers, we view current levels as in line with historical precedent. We believe Fastenal has an industry-leading employee development/training program, a deep sourcing organization in Asia, and has shown the ability to stealthily re-invent itself the past 10-15 years without interrupting growth. Uniquely within distribution, Fastenal has evolved as a purely organic growth story. Further, unlike its peers, Fastenal's strong post-recession performance has not been aided by product price inflation, potentially a hidden opportunity if the company can capitalize on this gap in future years." FAST closed at $44.36 on Thursday.