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

Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $369.1667.

AYI has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th.

Acuity Stock Performance

Acuity stock opened at $281.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $280.28 and its 200 day moving average is $317.31. Acuity has a twelve month low of $253.03 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Acuity will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 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 was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 122.2% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.