Two Sigma Advisers LP Cuts Stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its stake in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.10% of Acuity Brands worth $9,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE AYI opened at $260.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $251.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.69.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.60.

Acuity Brands Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.