Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) was the target of a large 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. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 374,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AIT traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $183.41. The company had a trading volume of 85,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,523. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $122.24 and a fifty-two week high of $201.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $189.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.77.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. 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 is currently 15.51%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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 AIT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,072,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $875,912,000 after acquiring an additional 14,858 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,625,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,329,000 after acquiring an additional 451,876 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 947,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $163,575,000 after purchasing an additional 21,276 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 15.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 750,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,099,000 after purchasing an additional 98,144 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 625,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,009,000 after buying an additional 32,282 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. KeyCorp upped their price target 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 assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

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.