Parker-Hannifin (PH) Competitors

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Which has more volatility and risk, PH or AIT?

Parker-Hannifin has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PH or AIT more profitable?

Parker-Hannifin has a net margin of 17.79% compared to Applied Industrial Technologies' net margin of 8.61%. Parker-Hannifin's return on equity of 26.80% beat Applied Industrial Technologies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Parker-Hannifin	17.79%	26.80%	12.24%
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.61%	21.78%	12.74%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of PH or AIT?

82.4% of Parker-Hannifin shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Parker-Hannifin shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend PH or AIT?

Parker-Hannifin currently has a consensus price target of $771.44, indicating a potential upside of 1.01%. Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus price target of $285.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.35%. Given Applied Industrial Technologies' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Industrial Technologies is more favorable than Parker-Hannifin.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Parker-Hannifin	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68
Applied Industrial Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to PH or AIT?

In the previous week, Parker-Hannifin had 22 more articles in the media than Applied Industrial Technologies. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for Parker-Hannifin and 3 mentions for Applied Industrial Technologies. Applied Industrial Technologies' average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Parker-Hannifin's score of 1.57 indicating that Applied Industrial Technologies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Parker-Hannifin	23 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Applied Industrial Technologies	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, PH or AIT?

Parker-Hannifin has higher revenue and earnings than Applied Industrial Technologies. Applied Industrial Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Parker-Hannifin, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Parker-Hannifin	$19.85B	4.87	$3.53B	$27.12	28.16
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.56B	2.14	$392.99M	$10.12	25.52

Is PH or AIT a better dividend stock?

Parker-Hannifin pays an annual dividend of $7.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Industrial Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Parker-Hannifin pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Industrial Technologies pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Parker-Hannifin has increased its dividend for 70 consecutive years and Applied Industrial Technologies has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Parker-Hannifin is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Parker-Hannifin beats Applied Industrial Technologies on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.