Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes $12.40 Million Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 36,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $12,398,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of Acuity as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its holdings in Acuity by 6.9% in the third quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 99,560 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,452 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Acuity by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,784 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,587,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,092 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $109,892,000 after buying an additional 29,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $260.55 on Monday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $310.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.41.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AYI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.33.

Acuity 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.