Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New $6.61 Million Investment in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 17,544 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,608,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $341.01 on Thursday. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. 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 50 day moving average price of $341.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company 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%. Acuity’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

About Acuity

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.