Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Stock Has Average Price Target of $380.20

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $380.20.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,121,983,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 8.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $177,970,000 after buying an additional 47,880 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 32.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 378,006 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $105,925,000 after buying an additional 92,094 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Acuity by 58.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 283,456 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $79,430,000 after buying an additional 104,990 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 252,731 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $70,820,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $301.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $325.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.20 EPS. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Acuity will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.68%.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity (NYSE: AYI) is a technology company that provides lighting, lighting controls and building-management solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential environments. Its products are designed to improve illumination, energy efficiency, automation and the overall performance of indoor and outdoor spaces.

The company offers a broad portfolio of lighting fixtures, controls, sensors and connected-building technologies. Its brands and product lines have included Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Peerless, SensorSwitch, Distech Controls and Atrius.