Ashford Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Acuity, Inc. by 36.6%, holding 64,460 shares valued at approximately $16.98 million, making it the 21st largest position in their portfolio.
• Acuity Brands reported a 21.7% revenue increase year-over-year, with an EPS of $5.12 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.44.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Acuity stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $340.60, while major firms have set target prices ranging from $320.00 to $365.00.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 36.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,460 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 17,257 shares during the quarter. Acuity accounts for about 2.2% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Ashford Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.21% of Acuity worth $16,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,118,613 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $821,287,000 after buying an additional 14,071 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Acuity by 1.7% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,139,857 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $300,181,000 after acquiring an additional 18,878 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Acuity by 158.9% in the fourth quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,088,477 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $317,977,000 after acquiring an additional 668,048 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 3.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,491 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 24,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 384,504 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $112,325,000 after purchasing an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Trading Down 0.4%

AYI traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $331.79. 132,814 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,434. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $309.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 week high of $345.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%.The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. Acuity's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AYI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Acuity from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $352.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

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

About Acuity

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.