Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $397.1667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $338.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Acuity has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $323.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.76.

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

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Acuity by 50,220.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Acuity by 6,496.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after buying an additional 681,696 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at $138,747,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the third quarter valued at $91,539,000. Finally, Alua Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the first quarter valued at $63,377,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.