Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.14.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIT. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $232.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $226.22 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $213.07 and a 200-day moving average of $200.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $149.59 and a twelve month high of $235.75. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.