Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $285.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on AIT shares. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $234.95 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $182.21 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.69.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth about $781,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.