Acuity (AYI) Competitors

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

Is DCI or AYI 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 28.86% beat Acuity's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Donaldson	9.94%	28.86%	14.63%
Acuity	9.63%	20.35%	11.98%

Is DCI or AYI a better dividend stock?

Donaldson pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Acuity pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Donaldson pays out 40.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acuity pays out 5.4% 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. Donaldson has raised its dividend for 38 consecutive years and Acuity has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Donaldson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, DCI or AYI?

Acuity has higher revenue and earnings than Donaldson. Donaldson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acuity, 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
Donaldson	$3.59B	2.32	$414M	$2.98	23.91
Acuity	$3.84B	2.44	$422.60M	$12.69	24.05

Which has more risk & volatility, DCI or AYI?

Donaldson has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acuity has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

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

Do analysts prefer DCI or AYI?

Donaldson currently has a consensus price target of $70.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.77%. Acuity has a consensus price target of $340.60, suggesting a potential upside of 11.61%. Given Acuity's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Acuity is more favorable than Donaldson.

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

Does the media prefer DCI or AYI?

In the previous week, Acuity had 8 more articles in the media than Donaldson. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Acuity and 9 mentions for Donaldson. Acuity's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Donaldson's score of 0.97 indicating that Acuity is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Donaldson	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Acuity	14 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Acuity beats Donaldson on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.