Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AYI. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $335.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Acuity has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Acuity will post 18.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Acuity in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

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.