Expect Equity LLC Purchases Shares of 142,209 LSI Industries Inc. $LYTS

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new stake in LSI Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LYTS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 142,209 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,780,000. LSI Industries makes up approximately 2.4% of Expect Equity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Expect Equity LLC owned 0.39% of LSI Industries as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYTS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LSI Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,118,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in LSI Industries by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,657,475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,133,000 after purchasing an additional 50,722 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in LSI Industries by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,464,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,232,000 after purchasing an additional 6,783 shares during the period. AltraVue Capital LLC boosted its holdings in LSI Industries by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 1,445,833 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,488,000 after purchasing an additional 106,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in LSI Industries by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,216,349 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,284,000 after purchasing an additional 171,124 shares in the last quarter. 73.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LSI Industries Price Performance

Shares of LSI Industries stock opened at $20.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $758.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. LSI Industries Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $27.36.

LSI Industries (NASDAQ:LYTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The construction company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $234.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $222.78 million. LSI Industries had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, equities analysts predict that LSI Industries Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LSI Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. LSI Industries’s payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LYTS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered LSI Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on LSI Industries in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on LSI Industries from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered LSI Industries from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of LSI Industries in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wilfred T. Ogara sold 10,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $249,789.21. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 103,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,497,795.74. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. Caneris sold 109,226 shares of LSI Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.29, for a total value of $2,653,099.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,573,749.10. This represents a 62.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 256,173 shares of company stock worth $6,220,368 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

LSI Industries Company Profile

LSI Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: LYTS) is a diversified manufacturer and distributor of lighting, graphics and building technology products. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company develops energy-efficient LED lighting systems, branded and digital graphic displays, and integrated building technology solutions. Serving customers in the retail, quick-service and convenience store, industrial, hospitality and transportation markets, LSI combines design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities to address both aesthetic and functional needs.

In its lighting segment, LSI offers interior and exterior LED fixtures, canopy lights, high-bay and low-bay systems, and specialized horticultural grow lights.