Contrasting Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) & EquipmentShare.com (NASDAQ:EQPT)

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) and EquipmentShare.com (NASDAQ:EQPT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 32.8% of EquipmentShare.com shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Industrial Technologies and EquipmentShare.com’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.34%	21.64%	12.91%
EquipmentShare.com	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Applied Industrial Technologies and EquipmentShare.com”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.56 billion	2.80	$392.99 million	$10.59	32.63
EquipmentShare.com	$4.38 billion	1.08	$40.00 million	$0.13	144.23

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies and EquipmentShare.com, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Industrial Technologies	0	1	7	0	2.88
EquipmentShare.com	1	5	6	0	2.42

Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $336.71, indicating a potential downside of 2.56%. EquipmentShare.com has a consensus target price of $36.33, indicating a potential upside of 93.78%. Given EquipmentShare.com’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EquipmentShare.com is more favorable than Applied Industrial Technologies.

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats EquipmentShare.com on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also operates fabricated rubber shops and service field crews that install, modify, and repair conveyor belts and rubber linings, as well as offer hose assemblies. In addition, the company provides technical support services; engages in the distribution of fluid power and industrial flow control products; advanced automation solutions, including machine vision, robotics, motion control, and smart technologies. It distributes industrial products through a network of service centers. The company serves various industries, including agriculture and food processing, cement, chemicals and petrochemicals, fabricated metals, forest products, industrial machinery and equipment, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, primary metals, technology, transportation, and utilities, as well as government entities. The company was formerly known as Bearings, Inc. and changed its to name to Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. in 1997. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

About EquipmentShare.com

EquipmentShare.com Inc. provides integrated, full-service construction solutions across equipment rental, sales and technology. EquipmentShare.com Inc. is based in Columbia, Missouri.