Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for Acuity Earnings

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Acuity in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the electronics maker will earn $5.14 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.23. The consensus estimate for Acuity’s current full-year earnings is $18.44 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Acuity’s Q2 2027 earnings at $4.31 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $5.60 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $20.26 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $5.09 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $4.77 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $6.03 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $21.96 EPS.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share.

AYI has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

Acuity Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $327.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $317.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.38. Acuity has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 8,338.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Acuity by 17.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 372.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth approximately $762,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.31%.

More Acuity News

Here are the key news stories impacting Acuity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its earnings outlook for FY2027 to $20.26 per share from $20.07, suggesting stronger longer-term profitability expectations. Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for Acuity Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased estimates for FY2028 to $21.96 per share from $21.77 and nudged up Q3 2028 and Q4 2027 earnings forecasts, reinforcing a constructive long-term outlook for Acuity’s earnings power.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several near-term estimates were mixed: Q1 2028 was trimmed slightly, Q2 2028 was barely raised, and Q2 2027 and Q4 2026 were lowered. That suggests analysts see some quarter-to-quarter variability rather than a clear step-change in the business.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks still expects Acuity to earn $18.44 per share for the current full year, which gives investors a benchmark to judge whether results are tracking ahead of expectations.

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.