Acuity, Inc. $AYI Position Raised by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 451.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,819 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,496 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $4,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $676,764,000 after buying an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Acuity by 9.1% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $469,617,000 after buying an additional 113,720 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Acuity by 2.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $280,695,000 after buying an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Acuity by 6,496.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after buying an additional 681,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in Acuity by 10.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $218,071,000 after buying an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.17.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $287.80 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $281.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.32. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.03 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.Acuity’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

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.