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Our mission: Bringing practical business and technical intelligence to today's structured cabling professionals

For more than 30 years, Cabling Installation & Maintenance has provided useful, practical information to professionals responsible for the specification, design, installation and management of structured cabling systems serving enterprise, data center and other environments. These professionals are challenged to stay informed of constantly evolving standards, system-design and installation approaches, product and system capabilities, technologies, as well as applications that rely on high-performance structured cabling systems. Our editors synthesize these complex issues into multiple information products. This portfolio of information products provides concrete detail that improves the efficiency of day-to-day operations, and equips cabling professionals with the perspective that enables strategic planning for networks’ optimum long-term performance.

Throughout our annual magazine, weekly email newsletters and 24/7/365 website, Cabling Installation & Maintenance digs into the essential topics our audience focuses on.

  • Design, Installation and Testing: We explain the bottom-up design of cabling systems, from case histories of actual projects to solutions for specific problems or aspects of the design process. We also look at specific installations using a case-history approach to highlight challenging problems, solutions and unique features. Additionally, we examine evolving test-and-measurement technologies and techniques designed to address the standards-governed and practical-use performance requirements of cabling systems.
  • Technology: We evaluate product innovations and technology trends as they impact a particular product class through interviews with manufacturers, installers and users, as well as contributed articles from subject-matter experts.
  • Data Center: Cabling Installation & Maintenance takes an in-depth look at design and installation workmanship issues as well as the unique technology being deployed specifically for data centers.
  • Physical Security: Focusing on the areas in which security and IT—and the infrastructure for both—interlock and overlap, we pay specific attention to Internet Protocol’s influence over the development of security applications.
  • Standards: Tracking the activities of North American and international standards-making organizations, we provide updates on specifications that are in-progress, looking forward to how they will affect cabling-system design and installation. We also produce articles explaining the practical aspects of designing and installing cabling systems in accordance with the specifications of established standards.

Cabling Installation & Maintenance is published by Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

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Fastenal or Simpson Manufacturing: Which is the Better Buy?

By: MarketBeat

Stock market chart

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) and Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD) are in similar businesses with a similar outlook for growth, but 1 is the better buy for investors today. While Fastenal is growing quicker and pays a higher yield, the trajectory for growth, dividends, and distribution growth at Simpson Manufacturing is far superior. Based on revenue, earnings, and growth, Fastenal is the winner; based on the outlook for distribution growth and capital appreciation, Simpson Manufacturing is a far better buy and will deliver far superior returns. 

Fastenal and Simpson Have Solid Business 

Fastenal and Simpson Manufacturing have many areas of overlap. Fastenal is far more diversified. Its DTC/vending model drives business and deepens penetration by providing a valuable service for manufacturers, builders, and industry. The company’s Onsite and vending products amount to a quartermaster service to which businesses can outsource their inventory management and distribution needs. 

Simpson Manufacturing is also diversified and diversifying. The company expanded its product lines to target manufacturing and automobile OEMs alongside the building industry. The company also leans into technology and provides SaaS for builders and homeowners. Regarding growth, the company is working on a new manufacturing facility in Tennessee and expansion in Europe.

Results in 2023 have been solid for both companies. Both outperform on the bottom line, Simpson on the top and bottom line, producing low-single-digit growth. The outlook for next year is favorable and includes an acceleration of growth on the top and bottom lines for each. 

Fastenal is expected to grow at a slightly quicker 6% and 7% compared to 5% and 6% for Simpson, significant because Fastenal’s business is 4X as large as Simpson's, but that is not enough to overshadow Simpson's dividend outlook. 

Simpson Manufacturing has Value and Distribution Strength 

Fastenal is not a weak dividend. The company pays about 2.4% with shares near the 2023 high, but the valuation, payout ratio, and growth outlook pale compared to Simpson. Fastenal trades at a high 30X earnings partly because it pays nearly 70% of earnings in dividends. The company has increased the payout for 24 years and is about to be dubbed a Dividend Aristocrat, but investors should expect the pace of increases to slow, as seen in the analysts' coverage. 

Analysts rate Fastenal a Hold with a price target up from last year but flat since summer and aligned with current price action. On the other hand, Simpson is rated a Moderate Buy with a price target trending higher and 35% above the price action. 

Simpson Manufacturing trades at a deep discount to Fastenal, about 15X earnings, because it pays only 13% of earnings in dividends. The remainder is used to invest in growth and future cash flow to support the healthy dividend outlook. 

Simpson paused annual increases during the pandemic but has a solid record of increases before and after. Simpson’s distribution CAGR is much lower, about 5%, but the pace could be increased and sustained without damaging the company’s financial health. That would be a catalyst for higher share prices and a price-multiple expansion. The takeaway is that investors looking to capture dividend growth and capital growth over a long duration will be better served by Simpson. 

The Technical Outlook: Simpson Outperforms in 2023

Both stocks are up solid double-digits this year, but Simpson’s advance is double its competitor, about 50%, with shares near $130. The market is pulling back now but should find support soon, possibly near $130, and begin to consolidate at that level. The next catalyst is the Q3 results, due out in late October. A solid report could get SSD to the bottom sooner rather than later. FAST shares are already advancing following its report and foreshadowing bullish market action. 

Fastenal Stock Chart

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