Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock Price

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) had its target price decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $385.00 to $370.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the electronics maker’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 33.82% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research lowered Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.33.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $276.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.92. Acuity has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Acuity by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity by 0.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.2% during the third quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Acuity by 0.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,577 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Acuity by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

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.