Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AYI. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.17.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI stock opened at $296.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.32. Acuity has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.31.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Acuity will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.