Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

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

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $307.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $294.84 and its 200-day moving average is $307.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AYI. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Acuity by 59.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Acuity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Acuity by 372.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

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.