National Bank of Canada FI Grows Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Acuity, Inc. by 693.2%, owning 1,277 shares valued at approximately $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the first quarter.
• Acuity reported $5.12 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $4.44, and achieved a 21.7% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 5.36%.

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 693.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,277 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Acuity were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 525.0% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock traded up $5.68 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $319.49. 284,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 297,862. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $298.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.81. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.64. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.81 and a fifty-two week high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%. Acuity's revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's payout ratio is currently 5.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AYI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.04, for a total transaction of $1,806,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,628,243.84. This trade represents a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total value of $1,230,487.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,980,115.40. The trade was a 38.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.