Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Receives $380.17 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $380.1667.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $375.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in Acuity in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $272.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Acuity has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $380.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

About Acuity

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.