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

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $315.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $285.00. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.57.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

AIT stock opened at $278.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $155.47 and a one year high of $282.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $238.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This represents a 20.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at $593,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,279,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth about $4,775,000. 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.