Wall Street Zen Upgrades Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies to “buy” from “hold,” joining a broadly positive analyst consensus. MarketBeat reports an overall “Buy” rating and an average price target of $400.
• Several analysts recently raised their price targets to between $390 and $420, following a quarterly earnings beat in which Applied Industrial Technologies reported $3.17 in EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue.
• The stock opened at $335.59, with a $12.33 billion market capitalization and a 52-week range of $238.34 to $374.80. Insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors own 93.52% of the company.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $317.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $400.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $335.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.85. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $238.34 and a 52-week high of $374.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 8.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 11.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, CFO David Wells sold 1,812 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total transaction of $643,441.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 32,050 shares in the company, valued at $11,380,955. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $648,216.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,859 shares in the company, valued at $7,782,346.55. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc is a distributor and value-added service provider of industrial products and engineered solutions. The company supplies products used to maintain, repair and operate manufacturing, processing, infrastructure and other industrial facilities, including bearings, power-transmission components, fluid-power equipment, industrial motion products, automation technologies, safety products and related supplies.

In addition to distributing products from leading manufacturers, Applied Industrial Technologies provides technical support, engineering, fabrication, repair and maintenance services.

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