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

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Trading Up 0.1%

Acuity stock opened at $359.35 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.55. Acuity has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Acuity will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be given 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 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is 5.31%.

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.