19,634 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Acquired by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,634 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Acuity by 122.2% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Acuity by 5,200.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Trading Down 0.1%

AYI opened at $267.66 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $301.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.13.

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

Acuity Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 6.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AYI. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on Acuity in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.33.

Acuity Profile

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.