Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys 20,137 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd sharply increased its stake in Acuity, buying 20,137 additional shares in Q1 and boosting its holdings by 1,834% to 21,235 shares worth about $5.95 million.
• Acuity reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $5.31 and revenue of $1.20 billion, both ahead of Wall Street estimates.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $397.17, while Acuity also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 1,834.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,235 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 20,137 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Acuity worth $5,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $196,653,000 after buying an additional 283,203 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at $2,019,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Acuity by 499.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity in the third quarter worth $54,514,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Acuity during the third quarter valued at $6,762,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE AYI opened at $359.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $305.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.27. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura O'shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Acuity Profile

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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