L2 Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,707 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Acuity by 499.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 136,879 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Acuity by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $111,132,000 after purchasing an additional 83,936 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,245,000 after purchasing an additional 11,341 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $22,572,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,736,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $340.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.29. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $341.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.07.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AYI shares. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

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.