Ashford Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Ashford Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,539 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,183 shares during the period. Acuity accounts for approximately 2.2% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $17,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Acuity by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Acuity by 372.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Acuity by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth $762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $336.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $319.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.78. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The company has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.