Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Acuity Stock Down 0.1%

AYI stock opened at $317.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $309.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Acuity will post 18.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

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.