Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.88.

AYI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $201.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $192.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $193.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th.

Insider Transactions at Acuity Brands

In related news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $158.05 per share, with a total value of $99,887.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,643.55. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,307 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 197 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,660 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AYI stock opened at $154.49 on Friday. Acuity Brands has a 52-week low of $142.71 and a 52-week high of $202.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.57.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 4th. The electronics maker reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.51. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 22.20%. The firm had revenue of $943.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.99 million. Research analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 14th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.56%.

Acuity Brands Company Profile

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Acuity Brands, Inc operates as an industrial technology company, which engages in the provision of lighting and building management solutions and services. It operates through the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls and Intelligent Spaces Group segments. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.