Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Stock to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Key Points

• Acuity declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable November 2 to shareholders of record on October 16. The annualized dividend is $0.80 per share, representing a 0.3% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a payout ratio of 4.2%; analysts expect earnings of $20.41 per share next year, implying a projected payout ratio of 3.9%.
• Acuity recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $5.31 in EPS and $1.20 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share by the electronics maker on Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th.

Acuity has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Acuity has a payout ratio of 4.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Acuity to earn $20.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.9%.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI opened at $312.15 on Friday. 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 cap of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $310.16. Acuity has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Acuity will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.17.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.