Moore Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 33,950 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $12,223,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AYI. Man Group plc increased its stake in Acuity by 78.8% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 44,498 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $16,021,000 after buying an additional 19,610 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Acuity by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 68,959 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Acuity by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 64,378 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $23,179,000 after buying an additional 37,954 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,071,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Acuity by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 136,963 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $49,312,000 after buying an additional 64,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $305.59 on Thursday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.31.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. Acuity had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.17.

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.