Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Applied Industrial Technologies is an industrial product distributor in North America that provides fluid power, mechanical, and rubber shop services.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Applied Industrial Technologies with five of six analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Applied Industrial Technologies as much as competitor Kaman overall. Seven out of nine analysts rate Kaman a buy compared to one of six for Applied Industrial Technologies. While analysts still rate the stock a hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
- Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $570.9 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7.8% from the year-ago quarter.
- Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.54 per share. Estimates range from $0.50 to $0.58.
What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 100% granting it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 96.2% assigning it a rating of "outperform." Fools have embraced 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:
Applied Industrial Technologies' profit has risen year over year by an average of 48% over the past five quarters. Revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.
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 | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 |
| Gross Margin | 27.4% | 28.7% | 27.7% | 27.2% |
| Operating Margin | 7.5% | 7.6% | 6.7% | 6.2% |
| Net Margin | 4.6% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 4.0% |
