Morgan Stanley Increases Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Price Target to $365.00

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $335.00 to $365.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the electronics maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.83% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AYI. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.60.

Acuity Stock Performance

Acuity stock traded down $4.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $299.60. 123,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,037. Acuity has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $261.72 and a 200 day moving average of $282.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.60.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Acuity will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AYI. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 158.9% during the fourth quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,088,477 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $317,977,000 after buying an additional 668,048 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,236,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 29,415.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227,271 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $59,852,000 after acquiring an additional 226,501 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Acuity by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 312,904 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $82,403,000 after acquiring an additional 158,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 613,217 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $157,910,000 after acquiring an additional 157,790 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Acuity

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.

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