Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New $6.61 Million Investment in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,544 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,608,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Acuity as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 499.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 136,879 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in Acuity by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $111,132,000 after buying an additional 83,936 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Acuity by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,245,000 after buying an additional 11,341 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,572,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at about $9,736,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Stock Up 0.3%

AYI stock opened at $341.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $341.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.29. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AYI. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity 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.