Acuity (AYI) Competitors

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) and Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Is AYI or DCI a better dividend stock?

Acuity pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Donaldson pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Acuity pays out 5.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Donaldson pays out 39.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Acuity has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Donaldson has raised its dividend for 38 consecutive years. Donaldson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer AYI or DCI?

In the previous week, Donaldson had 18 more articles in the media than Acuity. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Donaldson and 18 mentions for Acuity. Acuity's average media sentiment score of 1.61 beat Donaldson's score of 1.04 indicating that Acuity is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Acuity	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Donaldson	14 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, AYI or DCI?

Acuity has a beta of 1.64, meaning that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Donaldson has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, AYI or DCI?

Acuity has higher revenue and earnings than Donaldson. Acuity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Donaldson, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acuity	$3.84B	2.60	$422.60M	$12.69	25.63
Donaldson	$3.69B	2.52	$414M	$3.05	26.13

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AYI or DCI?

98.2% of Acuity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Donaldson shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of Acuity shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Donaldson shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AYI or DCI more profitable?

Donaldson has a net margin of 9.94% compared to Acuity's net margin of 9.63%. Donaldson's return on equity of 29.50% beat Acuity's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acuity	9.63%	20.35%	11.98%
Donaldson	9.94%	29.50%	14.79%

Do analysts rate AYI or DCI?

Acuity presently has a consensus price target of $340.60, suggesting a potential upside of 4.71%. Donaldson has a consensus price target of $79.33, suggesting a potential downside of 0.44%. Given Acuity's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Acuity is more favorable than Donaldson.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acuity	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Donaldson	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Acuity beats Donaldson on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.