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Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT - Free Report) closed at $128.08, marking a +1.8% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.75%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.55%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.01%.

Coming into today, shares of the industrial products company had gained 0.32% in the past month. In that same time, the Industrial Products sector gained 3.53%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.49%.

Applied Industrial Technologies will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.70, up 16.44% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $985.1 million, up 12.34% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.52 per share and revenue of $4.13 billion. These totals would mark changes of +14.29% and +8.42%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Applied Industrial Technologies. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Applied Industrial Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Applied Industrial Technologies has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.73 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.52.

The Manufacturing - General Industrial industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 156, which puts it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AIT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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