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Investing.com - Raymond James downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from Outperform to Market Perform on Friday. The company, currently valued at $10.4 billion, has shown strong performance with a 37% return over the past year, according to InvestingPro data.
The downgrade was primarily attributed to valuation concerns, with Raymond James noting that AIT shares are now trading "comfortably above" their previous $250 price target despite lowered estimates. This aligns with InvestingPro’s analysis, which indicates the stock is currently overvalued, trading at a P/E ratio of 27.6x and a price-to-book ratio of 5.7x.
Raymond James expressed continued admiration for Applied Industrial Technologies’ service-oriented business model and its leading position in fluid power and flow control product categories and market verticals.
The firm also acknowledged encouraging "recent organic green shoots" in the company’s Engineered Solutions segment as a positive factor.
At 18 times forward EBITDA, Raymond James believes the market is now implicitly assuming approximately 4-5% organic sales growth "in virtual perpetuity at normal incremental margins and capital needs," which aligns with management’s own internal targets for both long-term and FY26 performance.
In other recent news, Applied Industrial Technologies reported its fourth-quarter earnings for 2025, exceeding market expectations. The company achieved an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.80, surpassing the forecasted $2.63, which represents a 6.46% surprise. Additionally, Applied Industrial Technologies’ revenue outperformed projections, reaching $1.22 billion compared to the anticipated $1.18 billion, marking a 3.39% surprise. Despite these positive financial results, the company’s stock experienced a decline in pre-market trading. The earnings report highlights Applied Industrial Technologies’ ability to deliver strong financial performance. These recent developments are crucial for investors to consider.
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