Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with six out of seven ratings firms recommending a buy.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a EPS of $2.80, exceeding expectations, with a revenue increase of 5.5% year-over-year, reaching $1.22 billion.
• Significant insider activity occurred, including the sale of 7,466 shares by VP Jason W. Vasquez and 26,671 shares by CEO Neil A. Schrimsher, indicating changes in ownership stakes among executives.

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $285.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $259.19 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $199.96 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32. The business's 50 day moving average price is $264.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.64. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.96.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.20. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.000-10.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total transaction of $1,941,757.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,768,819.28. The trade was a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total transaction of $7,000,070.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $39,299,448.10. This represents a 15.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,609,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 645 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

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.

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