Brokerages Set Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Price Target at $397.67

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $395.1667.

AYI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research cut Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $320.53 on Monday. Acuity has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $357.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.40. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Acuity will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.11, for a total transaction of $1,638,978.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,056 shares in the company, valued at $2,211,106.16. This represents a 42.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 25.6% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 0.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Illumine Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 1.2% in the third quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Acuity by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,577 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Acuity

Acuity Brands, Inc (NYSE: AYI) is a leading provider of lighting fixtures, controls and building management solutions designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. The company’s core offerings include a broad range of LED luminaires, lighting controls, sensors and networked building systems that enhance energy efficiency, occupant comfort and operational productivity. Acuity Brands’ portfolio spans indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, emergency lighting, task lighting and architectural products, as well as advanced controls such as daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and wireless sensor networks.

Beyond traditional lighting, Acuity Brands delivers integrated digital solutions through its Connected Building platform, which combines smart sensors, cloud-based analytics and mobile applications to enable real-time monitoring and remote management of lighting and environmental systems.