Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Buy (B)" Rating for Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B)" rating for Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT), highlighting positive sentiment for the stock.
• Applied Industrial Technologies recently reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.60, and generating revenues of $1.22 billion, which also surpassed forecasts.
• The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion and an average target price of $285.00, with significant insider sales contributing to a 1.60% ownership by corporate insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reissued by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AIT. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of AIT stock traded up $1.93 on Wednesday, reaching $254.67. 84,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,058. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $263.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $244.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.96. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $199.96 and a twelve month high of $282.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total value 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,299,448.10. This represents a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 138.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 4,312 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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