Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Up 34.1% in February

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 989,400 shares, an increase of 34.1% from the January 31st total of 738,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 299,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $232.74. The stock had a trading volume of 433,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,245. The business has a fifty day moving average of $253.32 and a 200 day moving average of $242.09. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,233,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,591,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.