1,707 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Bought by L2 Asset Management LLC

L2 Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,707 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $340.16 on Wednesday. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $341.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.07. The stock has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

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.