Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of AIT Q2 Earnings

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for Applied Industrial Technologies in a report issued on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst S. Roy now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $2.56 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.54. The consensus estimate for Applied Industrial Technologies’ current full-year earnings is $9.90 per share.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AIT. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE AIT opened at $245.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.