Insider Buying: Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Director Acquires $22,069.36 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider purchase: Acuity Director Laura O’Shaughnessy bought 73 shares at an average price of $302.32, investing $22,069.36 and increasing her direct ownership by 2.35% to 3,184 shares.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Acuity reported earnings of $5.77 per share versus the $5.57 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 2.9% year over year to $1.24 billion.
• Market view remains mixed: Shares recently traded at $310.49, and analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $374.20. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) Director Laura O'shaughnessy bought 73 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $302.32 per share, with a total value of $22,069.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,586.88. This trade represents a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI stock traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $310.49. 303,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,917. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.20 EPS. Acuity's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 110.2% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Acuity from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $374.20.

About Acuity

Acuity NYSE: AYI, formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.

The company's offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.

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