Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Up 34.1% in February

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 989,400 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the January 31st total of 738,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 299,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $232.74 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $253.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.