Tetra Tech (TTEK) Competitors

Tetra Tech (NASDAQ:TTEK) and Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of TTEK or AIT?

93.9% of Tetra Tech shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Tetra Tech shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Applied Industrial Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, TTEK or AIT?

Tetra Tech has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Industrial Technologies has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend TTEK or AIT?

Tetra Tech currently has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.13%. Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus target price of $285.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.29%. Given Tetra Tech's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Tetra Tech is more favorable than Applied Industrial Technologies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tetra Tech	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Applied Industrial Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media favor TTEK or AIT?

In the previous week, Tetra Tech and Tetra Tech both had 9 articles in the media. Tetra Tech's average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat Applied Industrial Technologies' score of 1.41 indicating that Tetra Tech is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Tetra Tech	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Industrial Technologies	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is TTEK or AIT more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies has a net margin of 8.64% compared to Tetra Tech's net margin of 3.44%. Tetra Tech's return on equity of 23.31% beat Applied Industrial Technologies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tetra Tech	3.44%	23.31%	9.47%
Applied Industrial Technologies	8.64%	22.01%	12.83%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, TTEK or AIT?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tetra Tech	$5.46B	1.85	$333.38M	$0.69	55.46
Applied Industrial Technologies	$4.48B	2.28	$385.76M	$9.96	26.92

Is TTEK or AIT a better dividend stock?

Tetra Tech pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Industrial Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Tetra Tech pays out 37.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Industrial Technologies pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Tetra Tech has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and Applied Industrial Technologies has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Applied Industrial Technologies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Applied Industrial Technologies beats Tetra Tech on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.