Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $226.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $201.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $223.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 15.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $593,000. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,809,000 after buying an additional 48,883 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 185,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,606,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.