Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 4.2%

AIT stock traded down $9.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $225.04. The company had a trading volume of 733,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,981. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $228.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.67. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $182.21 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in 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 valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth about $781,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.