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 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. Based on an average trading volume of 374,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

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 value of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 9,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT traded up $2.32 on Monday, reaching $183.21. The company had a trading volume of 81,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,497. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $122.24 and a 1 year high of $201.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is 15.51%.

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.