Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Up 55.7% in April

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 807,700 shares, an increase of 55.7% from the March 31st total of 518,900 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 374,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 963.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.4 %

AIT stock traded up $2.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $183.41. The stock had a trading volume of 85,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $189.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.69. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $122.24 and a 52-week high of $201.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

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.