TD Cowen Boosts Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Price Target to $390.00

Key Points

• TD Cowen has raised its price target for Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) from $330.00 to $390.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.31% based on the stock's previous close.
• Several analysts, including Wells Fargo and Robert W. Baird, have also given various ratings on Acuity, with five analysts rating it as a "Buy" and one as a "Hold," leading to an average target price of $375.00.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of Acuity's stock, with significant recent activity involving new positions and increases in stakes by firms such as Intech Investment Management and Acadian Asset Management.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $330.00 to $390.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the electronics maker's stock. TD Cowen's target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.31% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.00.

Acuity Trading Up 5.5%

NYSE:AYI opened at $363.42 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $326.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Acuity has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $375.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the first quarter worth about $250,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Acuity in the first quarter worth about $379,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 20.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,533 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,514,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 12.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 542,715 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $142,907,000 after purchasing an additional 60,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 12.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 93 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.