140 Summer Partners LP Has $81.32 Million Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• 140 Summer Partners LP sharply increased its stake in Acuity by 375.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 225,860 shares valued at about $81.3 million. The position now makes up roughly 6% of its portfolio.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted or initiated positions, and 98.21% of Acuity’s stock is held by institutions. Insider buying was also notable, with directors Laura O'shaughnessy and Maya Leibman purchasing shares in recent transactions.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: Acuity has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $369.17, though some firms recently trimmed targets or downgraded ratings. The company also reported quarterly EPS of $4.14, slightly above estimates, while revenue came in a bit below expectations.

140 Summer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 375.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,860 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 178,360 shares during the period. Acuity makes up approximately 6.0% of 140 Summer Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. 140 Summer Partners LP owned approximately 0.74% of Acuity worth $81,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Acuity by 8,338.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 17.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Acuity by 372.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $762,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, Director Laura O'shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AYI. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Acuity from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.17.

Acuity Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $306.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $290.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.16. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.87%.

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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