Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Board of Directors Declares Stock Repurchase Plan

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $227.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $181.35 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $228.31 and a 200-day moving average of $246.12.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.