Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock Price

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $375.00 to $320.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the electronics maker’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 18.25% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AYI. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.17.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $270.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.57. Acuity has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of Acuity 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth approximately $358,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,215 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,479,000 after acquiring an additional 3,082 shares during the period. AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $799,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Acuity by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,752 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.