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

Key Points

• Acuity has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from nine analysts, with five buy ratings and four holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $397.17, above the stock’s reported $336.96 price.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 in EPS versus the $5.17 consensus and revenue of $1.20 billion versus $1.18 billion expected. Revenue increased 1.6% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 98.21%, with several hedge funds increasing their positions. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.2% annual yield.

Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $397.1667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

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

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $336.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $340.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.91.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

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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