Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $395.1667.

A number of analysts have weighed in on AYI shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Acuity from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total value of $1,724,862.87. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,880,665.45. This represents a 30.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in Acuity in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 1,100.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 122.2% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 5,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $350.18 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $361.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.92. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.49. Acuity has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $379.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by $0.36. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 9.13%.The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.30 earnings per share. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Acuity has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.000-20.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.43%.

About Acuity

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.