Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Acuity received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts, with five buy ratings and four holds. The average 12-month price target is $397.17, above the reported $302.81 opening price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $5.31 versus the $5.17 consensus and revenue of $1.20 billion, up 1.6% year over year.
• Acuity declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 dividend and a 0.3% yield; institutional investors own approximately 98.2% of the stock.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $397.1667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI opened at $302.81 on Friday. Acuity has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $334.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.23.

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

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is 5.31%.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Acuity by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 82.2% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,912 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 38.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Acuity by 0.5% in the second quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 19,912 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $7,500,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Acuity by 270.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 707 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity, formerly known as Acuity Brands, Inc, is an industrial technology company that develops products and systems for lighting, building management and connected spaces. Its offerings are designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications, helping customers manage illumination, energy use, occupancy and other aspects of the built environment.

The company's lighting portfolio includes indoor and outdoor fixtures, lighting controls, and related components.

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