AIT vs EACO vs FERG Stock Comparison

Applied Industrial Technologies, Eaco and Ferguson Enterprises Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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EACO Eaco Corp
$125.00 -3.8% 1M +68.9% 1Y
Market cap
$607.70M
P/E
14.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$493.61M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Eaco leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Eaco 8, Ferguson Enterprises 2, Applied Industrial Technologies 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAITEACOFERGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.02B $607.70M $44.69B FERG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.0x 14.6x 22.0x EACO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.2x — 21.5x FERG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +22.8% +5.2% EACO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.4% 8.5% 6.5% EACO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% 22.1% 21.7% EACO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x -0.5x 1.0x EACO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.4% +68.9% -8.6% EACO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +24.7%/yr +44.7%/yr +8.6%/yr EACO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 59.3% 29.8% AIT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 81/100 65/100 EACO

Percentile Scorecard

AITEACOFERG

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAITEACOFERG
Valuation 29 #33 of 46 64 #17 of 46 44 #26 of 46
Growth 58 #17 of 39 87 #6 of 39 76 #10 of 39
Profitability 92 #4 of 39 76 #10 of 39 87 #6 of 39
Financial Health 91 #5 of 47 96 #3 of 47 48 #25 of 47
Shareholder Returns 74 #9 of 32 – 71 #10 of 32
Overall 69 81 65
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • EACO ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAITEACOFERGSPY
1 month -10.7%-3.8%+3.1% -0.2%
3 months -14.5%+23.8%-1.1% +3.9%
6 months -1.2%+38.8%-11.1% +8.2%
Year to date +15.9%+61.0%+3.1% +12.9%
1 year +14.4%+68.9%-8.6% +12.3%
3 years +97.3%+267.6%+51.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +25.5%+54.4%+14.8% +23.3%
5 years +201.2%+532.9%+51.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +24.7%+44.7%+8.6% +10.9%
10 years +492.0%+1,817.2%+333.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.5%+34.4%+15.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAITEACOFERGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%59.3%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.0%121.6%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.790.121.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.521.16-0.29 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.5%-28.7%-43.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.9%-7.4%-14.3% -1.2%
52-week high $362.17$135.00$267.71 $779.14
52-week low $240.63$73.00$214.24 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAITEACOFERG
P/E now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 25.3x 14.6xmedian 25.3x 22.0xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.0x 1.2xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 13.4x 10.2xmedian 13.4x 15.0xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 21.9x 67.5xmedian 21.9x 19.7xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 2.6x 3.2xmedian 2.6x 7.6xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 3.56median 2.38 0.56median 2.38 —median 2.38

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAITEACOFERG
Revenue $5.06B $493.61M $31.35B
Gross profit $1.54B $152.37M $9.73B
Operating income $564.03M $54.76M $2.82B
Net income $424.12M $41.81M $2.03B
Free cash flow $421.86M $9.00M $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $11.41 $8.51 $10.42
Cash & equivalents – $758.00K $820.00M
Total debt $282.30M $16.66M $4.13B
Shares (diluted) 37.18M 4.90M 194.80M
Enterprise value $10.90B $482.28M $41.91B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAITEACOFERG
P/E 25.7x 14.6x 22.0x
P/FCF 25.7x 67.5x 19.7x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 49.4x 17.0x
P/S 2.1x 1.2x 1.4x
P/B 5.8x 3.2x 7.6x
P/Tangible book 6.9x 3.2x 8.5x
EV/EBITDA 17.5x 10.2x 15.0x
EV/EBIT 19.6x 10.6x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 1.2x 1.5x
EV/FCF 26.2x 64.2x 21.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.5x 47.0x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.56 0.56 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAITEACOFERG
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 22.8% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 15.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.3% 25.9% 7.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 18.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.7% 36.1% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 24.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 5.6% 41.0% 31.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 26.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 8.7% 41.1% 34.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 26.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% -35.6% 35.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -16.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.3% -51.2% 42.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -23.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAITEACOFERG
Gross margin 30.4% 30.9% 31.0%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 11.4% 10.2%
Operating margin 11.2% 11.1% 9.0%
Pretax margin 11.0% 11.3% 8.3%
Net margin 8.4% 8.5% 6.5%
FCF margin 8.3% 1.8% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 8.9% 2.5% 8.3%
Return on equity 22.6% 23.0% 34.0%
Return on assets 14.2% 16.5% 11.4%
Return on invested capital 20.0% 22.1% 21.7%
Return on capital employed 22.9% 30.4% 23.4%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.9x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 0.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAITEACOFERG
Debt / assets 9.5% 1.5% 23.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.0x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x -0.5x 1.0x
Debt / FCF 0.7x 0.5x 1.8x
Liabilities / assets 36.8% 29.7% 67.0%
Equity / assets 63.2% 70.3% 33.0%
Interest coverage – 286.7x –
Current ratio 2.9x 3.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 10.02 8.67 5.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAITEACOFERG
Dividend yield 0.7% – 1.6%
Net buyback yield 3.2% – 1.9%
Shareholder yield 3.8% – 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 10.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.1% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAITEACOFERG
Forward P/E 23.2xFY2027 – 21.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.83FY2027 – $10.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.2%FY2027 – +7.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% – +20.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2027 – $34.30BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2027 – +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% – -0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAITEACOFERG
Held by institutions 94.4% – 96.3%
Institutions holding 617 – 937
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% – +2.1%
Institutions buying 326 – 477
Institutions selling 207 – 343
Buyers to sellers 1.57 – 1.39

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AITEACOFERG
AIT 1.00 -0.02 0.54
EACO -0.02 1.00 -0.01
FERG 0.54 -0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AIT, EACO and FERG?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $11.02B, Eaco (EACO) $607.70M, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, AIT, EACO and FERG?

Eaco (EACO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 26.0x, Eaco (EACO) 14.6x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 22.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is cheapest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.2x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Eaco (EACO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Eaco (EACO) +22.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eaco (EACO) has the highest net margin (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Eaco (EACO) 8.5%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%). On return on invested capital, Eaco (EACO) leads (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Eaco (EACO) 22.1%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Eaco (EACO) returned the most: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +14.4%, Eaco (EACO) +68.9%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -8.6%. Over five years, Eaco (EACO) compounded fastest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +24.7%/yr, Eaco (EACO) +44.7%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.01%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 0.00%. Eaco (EACO) and Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has been the steadiest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.8%, Eaco (EACO) 59.3%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AIT, EACO and FERG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Eaco (EACO) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.