Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Acuity (NYSE:AYI) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, indicating increased confidence in the stock's potential.
• Multiple investment analysts have raised their price targets for Acuity, with significant increases including Robert W. Baird's target hike to $360.00 and Oppenheimer's to $435.00.
• Institutional investors own 98.21% of Acuity's stock, highlighting strong institutional confidence and investment interest in the company.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AYI has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $395.17.

Acuity Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE AYI opened at $346.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Acuity has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $375.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $330.14 and a 200-day moving average of $289.68.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised 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 valued at $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at about $119,587,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at about $115,595,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Acuity by 64.0% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 574,975 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $171,580,000 after acquiring an additional 224,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Acuity by 103.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 312,904 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $82,403,000 after acquiring an additional 158,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

About Acuity

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.

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