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Applied Industrial (AIT) Buys R.R. Floody, Expands Presence

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Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT - Free Report) yesterday announced that it has acquired R.R. Floody Company, Inc. Financial terms of the acquisition have been kept under wraps.

Applied Industrial’s shares declined 2.8% yesterday to eventually close the trading session at $85.88.

Rockford, IL-based R.R. Floody, with a team of 18 associates, specializes in providing engineered solutions, automation products and services. The products and services offered are related to mobile and collaborative robotics, machine vision, material handling, motion control, as well as digital capabilities.

Acquisition Rationale

As noted, the acquisition will enable Applied Industrial to leverage R.R. Floody’s expertise in advanced facility automation and offer a comprehensive line of automation solutions to its customers. The buyout will also boost the company’s reach across the Midwest market in the United States.

R.R. Floody’s solid customer base in multiple industries, including consumer packaging, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, general industrial and medical technology, will be a boon for the company.

Other Notable Buyouts

Applied Industrial focuses on acquiring businesses to expand its product line and gain access to new markets. In January 2021, the company acquired Norwood, MA-based Gibson Engineering Company, Inc. The acquisition is likely to strengthen and expand Applied Industrial’s range of automation solutions across the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets. Also, its buyout of Advanced Control Solutions in October 2020 has been strengthening its range of automation solutions across various end markets.

In fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 (ended June 2021), buyouts boosted the company’s sales by 2.1%.

Zacks Rank, Estimate Trend and Price Performance

Applied Industrial, with approximately $3.3 billion market capitalization, currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). It is poised to benefit from a solid demand for its engineered solutions, healthy cross-selling actions, acquired assets and a solid balance sheet. Its shareholder-friendly policies are likely to be beneficial as well.

Over the past year, the company’s shares have gained 43.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 24.2%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings is pegged at $1.19 for first-quarter fiscal 2022 (ending September 2022) and $5.31 for fiscal 2022 (ending June 2022), reflecting growth of 2.6% and 6.2% from the respective 60-day-ago figures. Also, the consensus estimate for the fiscal 2023 (ending June 2023) has increased 7.2% to $5.81.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the same space are Kadant Inc. (KAI - Free Report) , EnPro Industries, Inc. (NPO - Free Report) and Dover Corporation (DOV - Free Report) . While Kadant and EnPro sport a Zacks Rank #1, Dover carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kadant delivered an earnings surprise of 22.26%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

EnPro delivered an earnings surprise of 80.64%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Dover delivered an earnings surprise of 17.59%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.


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