Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Receives $369.17 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $369.1667.

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

Acuity Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AYI opened at $303.03 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $289.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.57. Acuity has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is 5.87%.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 0.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Acuity by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Acuity by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 1.6% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.