Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $380.1667.

Several analysts recently commented on AYI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $270.25 on Friday. Acuity has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $297.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $335.10.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The company’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. Research analysts expect that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

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.