Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Takes $1.11 Million Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AYI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Acuity by 50,220.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth $138,747,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the third quarter valued at $91,539,000. Finally, Alua Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the first quarter valued at $63,377,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $336.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $340.56 and a 200-day moving average of $307.91. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.12 earnings per share. Acuity’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

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.