Acuity, Inc. $AYI Holdings Lifted by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Acuity stake by 16.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 25,221 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.21% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Acuity has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $397.17, with recent target increases from Robert W. Baird and Morgan Stanley.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 EPS versus the $5.17 estimate and revenue of $1.20 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.2% annual yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,221 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,516 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Acuity worth $7,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,000. Alua Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Acuity during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,377,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in Acuity by 217.3% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 9,061 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 6,205 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 72.3% during the first quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Acuity by 87.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 213,801 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,911,000 after buying an additional 100,036 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Trading Up 1.4%

Acuity stock opened at $338.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $323.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.76. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week 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 has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Acuity Profile

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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