Head-To-Head Contrast: Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) versus Mitsui & Co. (OTCMKTS:MITSY)

Mitsui & Co. (OTCMKTS:MITSY) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mitsui & Co. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Mitsui & Co. has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Mitsui & Co. and Applied Industrial Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mitsui & Co.	6.22%	10.67%	4.76%
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.35%	22.17%	13.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Mitsui & Co. and Applied Industrial Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mitsui & Co.	0	1	0	0	2.00
Applied Industrial Technologies	0	0	7	0	3.00

Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus price target of $400.00, suggesting a potential upside of 18.55%. Given Applied Industrial Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Industrial Technologies is more favorable than Mitsui & Co..

Dividends

Mitsui & Co. pays an annual dividend of $11.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Applied Industrial Technologies pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mitsui & Co. pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Industrial Technologies pays out 18.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Applied Industrial Technologies has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mitsui & Co. and Applied Industrial Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mitsui & Co.	$92.97 billion	0.98	$5.21 billion	$42.41	15.09
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.97 billion	2.50	$414.52 million	$10.96	30.78

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

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats Mitsui & Co. on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mitsui & Co.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. operates as an trading and investment company worldwide. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of steel products; steel processing, maintenance, and recycling activities; investment, development, and trading of mineral and metal resources, as well as resource recycling and industrial developing solutions; and upstream development, logistics, and trading of energy resources, such as natural gas/LNG, oil, coal, and uranium. It also offers power, gas, water, rail, and logistics systems; sales, financing, lease, transportation, and logistics services; and invests in plants, offshore energy development, ships, aviation, space, railways, and automotives, as well as machinery for mining, construction, and industrial use. In addition, the company provides basic chemicals and inorganic raw materials, functional materials, electronic materials, specialty chemicals, housing and lifestyle materials, agri-inputs, animal/human nutrition, and health products; and logistics infrastructures services, including tank terminal operation, as well as plastic recycling and next-generation energy, such as hydrogen and ammonia and forest resources businesses. Further, it engages in the food resources and products, merchandising, retail, fashion and textiles, wellness, healthcare, pharma, hospitality, and human capital businesses. Additionally, it is involved in the ICT, finance, real estate, and logistics businesses. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsui E&P Italia B operates as a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

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.