Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) vs. NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) Critical Review

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

NPK International has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of NPK International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	1	2	0	2.67
Applied Industrial Technologies	0	0	7	0	3.00

NPK International presently has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus price target of $384.29, suggesting a potential upside of 6.10%. Given NPK International’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NPK International is more favorable than Applied Industrial Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	14.19%	11.31%	9.24%
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.35%	22.17%	13.43%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NPK International and Applied Industrial Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$277.04 million	4.36	$38.94 million	$0.50	28.45
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.97 billion	2.70	$392.99 million	$10.59	34.20

Applied Industrial Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than NPK International. NPK International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied Industrial Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats NPK International on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment. It also operates fabricated rubber shops and service field crews that install, modify, and repair conveyor belts and rubber linings, as well as offer hose assemblies. In addition, the company provides technical support services; engages in the distribution of fluid power and industrial flow control products; advanced automation solutions, including machine vision, robotics, motion control, and smart technologies. It distributes industrial products through a network of service centers. The company serves various industries, including agriculture and food processing, cement, chemicals and petrochemicals, fabricated metals, forest products, industrial machinery and equipment, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, primary metals, technology, transportation, and utilities, as well as government entities. The company was formerly known as Bearings, Inc. and changed its to name to Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. in 1997. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.