Laura O'shaughnessy Purchases 1,000 Shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock

Key Points

• Director Laura O'shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYI) on April 8 at an average price of $282.98, raising her stake by 47.37% to 3,111 shares (about $880,351); the trade was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Acuity beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $4.69 vs. $4.45 expected with $1.14B revenue, a 20.2% year‑over‑year increase, and analysts forecast roughly 15.86 EPS for the current year.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but slightly positive — five Buys and four Holds — with a MarketBeat consensus target price of $369.17 (average rating "Moderate Buy"), though several firms have recently trimmed targets.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) Director Laura O'shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $278.36. The stock had a trading volume of 354,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,322. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.71 and a 52 week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AYI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 50,220.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $676,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $469,617,000 after acquiring an additional 113,720 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Acuity by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $280,695,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Acuity by 6,496.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $249,216,000 after purchasing an additional 681,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Acuity by 10.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $218,071,000 after purchasing an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Company 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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