Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after William Blair downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The stock had previously closed at $319.42, but opened at $300.08. Acuity shares last traded at $307.5150, with a volume of 88,913 shares traded.

AYI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Acuity by 61.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,748,000 after buying an additional 5,816 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Acuity by 79.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,732 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Acuity by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Acuity by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,912 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Stock Down 3.7%

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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $310.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity, formerly known as Acuity Brands, Inc, is an industrial technology company that develops products and systems for lighting, building management and connected spaces. Its offerings are designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications, helping customers manage illumination, energy use, occupancy and other aspects of the built environment.

The company’s lighting portfolio includes indoor and outdoor fixtures, lighting controls, and related components.