Interval Partners LP Purchases New Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 62,868 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,000. Interval Partners LP owned about 0.21% of Acuity at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the third quarter worth $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Acuity by 122.2% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Acuity by 5,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $260.55 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.15%.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AYI has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on shares of Acuity in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.33.

About Acuity

Acuity Brands, Inc (NYSE: AYI) is a leading provider of lighting fixtures, controls and building management solutions designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. The company’s core offerings include a broad range of LED luminaires, lighting controls, sensors and networked building systems that enhance energy efficiency, occupant comfort and operational productivity. Acuity Brands’ portfolio spans indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, emergency lighting, task lighting and architectural products, as well as advanced controls such as daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and wireless sensor networks.

Beyond traditional lighting, Acuity Brands delivers integrated digital solutions through its Connected Building platform, which combines smart sensors, cloud-based analytics and mobile applications to enable real-time monitoring and remote management of lighting and environmental systems.