Gradient Investments LLC Invests $2.75 Million in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,308 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after acquiring an additional 681,696 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,747,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,539,000. Finally, Alua Capital Management LP bought a new position in Acuity during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AYI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Acuity has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE AYI opened at $360.93 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $329.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.92.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.31%.

Acuity Company Profile

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.