Zacks Research Equities Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Acuity Brands in a report released on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ram now anticipates that the electronics maker will earn $3.68 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.43. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands' current full-year earnings is $14.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Acuity Brands' Q4 2024 earnings at $3.94 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.16 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.55 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.88 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.19 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $15.06 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.77 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $16.09 EPS.

AYI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $289.25.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

AYI traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $247.07. 253,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 269,098. The stock has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $255.81 and a 200 day moving average of $216.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Acuity Brands has a 52 week low of $149.30 and a 52 week high of $272.74.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Acuity Brands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 4.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 6,186 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 1.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 7,494 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the first quarter worth $208,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 3.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the first quarter worth $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

About Acuity Brands

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.