Reviewing NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	1	2	0	2.67
Applied Industrial Technologies	0	1	7	0	2.88

NPK International presently has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.11%. Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus target price of $336.71, indicating a potential downside of 4.62%. Given NPK International’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe NPK International is more favorable than Applied Industrial Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	14.19%	11.31%	9.24%
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.34%	21.64%	12.91%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$277.04 million	4.31	$38.94 million	$0.50	28.10
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.56 billion	2.86	$392.99 million	$10.59	33.34

Applied Industrial Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than NPK International. NPK International 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.

Risk & Volatility

NPK International has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of NPK International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats NPK International on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

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.