Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,677 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Acuity Brands by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 16.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 9.8% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 18,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Acuity Brands by 12.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 427 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Acuity Brands by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 4,490 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Acuity Brands stock opened at $325.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $293.41 and its 200 day moving average is $264.34. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.93 and a 1 year high of $337.99.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $4.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 20.49% and a net margin of 11.00%. Acuity Brands’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.46%.

Insider Activity at Acuity Brands

In other Acuity Brands news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $1,561,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,590. The trade was a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $289.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.00.

Acuity Brands Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.