Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $315.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $285.00.

Several other research firms have also commented on AIT. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.57.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $275.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $156.50 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $243.16 and a 200-day moving average of $213.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $593,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 20,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is 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.