Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 8.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,880 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Acuity were worth $177,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Insider Activity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Acuity Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:AYI opened at $330.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $318.47 and a 200 day moving average of $304.56. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

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.