Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $380.1667.

AYI has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Acuity from $375.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 121.3% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,653,000 after purchasing an additional 283,203 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 99,560 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,287,000 after buying an additional 6,452 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Acuity by 9.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,784 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $33,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $119,587,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $287.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.98. Acuity has a 12-month low of $216.81 and a 12-month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Acuity will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

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.