Applied Industrial Technologies Earnings Preview

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article contained incorrect net income information for Applied Industrial Technologies. We regret the error.

Watch Applied Industrial Technologies' (NYSE: AIT  ) earnings report to see if it can beat analyst expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Applied Industrial Technologies is an industrial product distributor in North America, which provides fluid power, and mechanical and rubber shop services.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Applied Industrial Technologies with four of six analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Applied Industrial Technologies as much as competitor Kaman overall. Seven out of eight analysts rate Kaman a buy compared to two of six for Applied Industrial Technologies. Analysts' rating of Applied Industrial Technologies has stayed constant from three months prior.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $594.7 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 13.7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.60 per share. Estimates range from $0.57 to $0.63.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock, with 99.1% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars, with 96.1% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Applied Industrial Technologies, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 51 posts in the past 30 days. Applied Industrial Technologies has a bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars that is about on par with the Fool community assessment.

Management:
On a year-over-year basis, Applied Industrial Technologies' net income is up more than 60%.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters:

Quarter	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4
Gross Margin	27.7%	27.2%	27.1%	29.3%
Operating Margin	6.7%	6.2%	6.6%	8.9%
Net Margin	4.7%	4.0%	3.9%	5.3%

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