Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Acuity Brands from “buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with five Buy ratings and four Holds.
• Acuity recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 in EPS versus the $5.17 estimate and $1.20 billion in revenue versus the $1.18 billion consensus; revenue increased 1.6% year over year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 98.21% of Acuity’s shares, while the stock was trading at $343.66, below the consensus analyst price target of $397.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $343.66 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $339.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.29. Acuity has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth $2,019,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Acuity by 499.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $59,145,000 after buying an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Acuity by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $111,132,000 after buying an additional 83,936 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Acuity by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $11,245,000 after buying an additional 11,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at $22,572,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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