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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $397.17.
• Acuity’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $5.31 versus the $5.17 estimate and revenue of $1.20 billion versus $1.18 billion expected. Revenue increased 1.6% year over year.
• AYI opened at $335.44, with a 52-week range of $257.04 to $380.17 and a market capitalization of about $10.04 billion. Institutional investors own approximately 98.21% of the company.

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

AYI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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 target on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $335.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $342.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Acuity will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Acuity by 1.8% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Acuity by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Acuity by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

About Acuity

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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