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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT traded up $2.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $183.21. The stock had a trading volume of 81,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,497. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $122.24 and a 52 week high of $201.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $189.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.69.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced 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 net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.8% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the third quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 4,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 9,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 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.