Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.20 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $307.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is 5.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of Acuity 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

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

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.