Short Interest in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Declines By 21.8%

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 516,401 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the December 15th total of 660,396 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 288,336 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 288,336 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. 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 objective on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Acuity has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.17.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI traded down $10.77 on Tuesday, hitting $309.66. The stock had a trading volume of 340,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,118. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $356.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07. Acuity has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Acuity will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.11, for a total value of $1,638,978.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,211,106.16. This trade represents a 42.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted 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 worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at $119,587,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at about $115,595,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Acuity by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,653,000 after buying an additional 283,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,539,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Company 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.