Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Purchases New Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:AYI opened at $335.44 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $342.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.53.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

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.