Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Up 0.2%

AYI stock opened at $343.66 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $339.88 and a 200-day moving average of $307.76. Acuity has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Acuity will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter worth $30,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Company 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.