Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Acuity Q2 Earnings

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2027 earnings per share estimates for Acuity in a research note issued to investors on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the electronics maker will earn $4.73 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.74. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Acuity’s current full-year earnings is $15.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Acuity’s Q3 2027 earnings at $5.38 EPS.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.Acuity’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AYI. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on Acuity in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.67.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $326.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $361.70 and a 200 day moving average of $339.54. Acuity has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $119,587,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,595,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 98.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $196,653,000 after acquiring an additional 283,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Acuity in the third quarter worth approximately $91,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total transaction of $1,724,862.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,880,665.45. The trade was a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Acuity

Here are the key news stories impacting Acuity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Acuity reported adjusted EPS of $4.69 (beat) and delivered ~20% net sales growth and higher adjusted operating profit, which underscores healthy demand and margin expansion. Acuity Reports Fiscal 2026 First-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized strategic financial moves and improved adjusted diluted EPS and margins on the earnings call, supporting the thesis of profitable growth. Acuity Inc (AYI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in roughly in line with expectations (~$1.14B), so top-line performance supported the beat but did not materially surprise on upside. Acuity Brands’s Q4 CY2025 Earnings Results
• Neutral Sentiment: FY26 guidance was updated to EPS $19.00–$20.50 and revenue $4.7B–$4.9B — a range that brackets the Street but introduces some uncertainty around cadence and the midpoint. Investors are parsing the range rather than seeing a crisp upside revision. (Guidance referenced in company materials and call.) Earnings Slide Deck / Call
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged a Q2 seasonality shift and backlog normalization — items that can temper near-term growth expectations and lead investors to re-evaluate the pace of revenue recovery. Acuity signals Q2 seasonality shift and highlights 20% net sales growth amid backlog normalization
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts trimmed near-term estimates (e.g., Zacks adjustments), and commentary that the guidance range is wider than ideal added selling pressure for traders focused on precision. Acuity (AYI) Q1 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness (Nasdaq pullback) also weighed on sentiment for cyclical/tech-linked names like AYI, amplifying reactions to the mixed company-specific news. Nasdaq Falls Over 100 Points; Acuity Posts Upbeat Earnings

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.