APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. vs Ferguson Enterprises Inc., two Distribution stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where AIT and FERG diverge most: on debt / equity, AIT reads 0.20 and FERG reads 0.70; on dividend yield, AIT reads 0.5% and FERG reads 1.4%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What AIT's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | AIT | FERG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $345.30 | $234.31 |
| Market cap | $13.0B | $45.6B |
| Sector | Distribution | Distribution |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +9.6% |
| P/E | 32.6 | 22.0 |
| P/B | 7.00 | 7.77 |
| P/S | 2.69 | 1.44 |
| EV/EBITDA | 24.0 | 14.8 |
| Revenue growth | +7.6% | +5.0% |
| Gross margin | 30.4% | 31.0% |
| Operating margin | 11.0% | 8.2% |
| Net margin | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| Return on equity | 21.7% | 35.6% |
| Return on assets | 13.5% | 11.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 17.4% | 21.5% |
| FCF yield | 3.4% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | 0.20 | 0.70 |
| Current ratio | 2.95 | 1.78 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.46 | 5.08 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.