Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Up 55.7% in April

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 807,700 shares, a growth of 55.7% from the March 31st total of 518,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 374,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 963.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.89. 448,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 245,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.59. The business's 50-day moving average is $189.87 and its 200-day moving average is $175.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12-month low of $122.24 and a 12-month high of $201.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

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.