Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires Shares of 29,260 Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 29,260 Acuity shares worth approximately $11.0 million, giving it a 0.10% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.21% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with five Buy ratings and four Holds; Acuity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 in EPS and $1.20 billion in revenue, while year-over-year revenue increased 1.6%. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,260 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $11,021,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.10% of Acuity as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Acuity by 499.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $59,145,000 after acquiring an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,245,000 after purchasing an additional 11,341 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $111,132,000 after purchasing an additional 83,936 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $22,572,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,736,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $335.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $342.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. Acuity's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

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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