Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Acuity, Inc. by 56.1% during the first quarter, owning 20,561 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Acuity, with target prices ranging from $320 to $365.
• Acuity reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $5.12, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.68 and showing a 21.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,561 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 7,392 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.07% of Acuity worth $5,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Acuity by 525.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 50.5% during the 4th 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Acuity by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $305.71. The stock had a trading volume of 95,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm's 50 day moving average is $288.78 and its 200 day moving average is $281.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.64. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $345.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Acuity

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

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.