Brokerages Set Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) PT at $324.00

Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $323.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AYI. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Acuity Brands from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $312.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 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. Acuity Brands has a twelve month low of $214.32 and a twelve month high of $337.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.91.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.10. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The company had revenue of $951.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $955.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.72 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Acuity Brands will post 15.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity Brands news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,590. This trade represents a 37.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Acuity Brands by 517.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the third quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 229.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 244 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.