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

Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $397.1667.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AYI. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $302.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $334.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29. Acuity has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acuity will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $1,121,983,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,747,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,018,000. Alua Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,377,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,212,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity, formerly known as Acuity Brands, Inc, is an industrial technology company that develops products and systems for lighting, building management and connected spaces. Its offerings are designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications, helping customers manage illumination, energy use, occupancy and other aspects of the built environment.

The company’s lighting portfolio includes indoor and outdoor fixtures, lighting controls, and related components.