Ashford Capital Management Inc. Takes $13.79 Million Position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 47,203 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $13,789,000. Acuity Brands accounts for about 1.6% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Ashford Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Acuity Brands as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Acuity Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Acuity Brands stock opened at $271.26 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $251.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.75. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. Acuity Brands's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on Acuity Brands in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.60.

About Acuity Brands

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.

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