Acuity, Inc. $AYI Holdings Cut by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,769 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,060 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $4,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Acuity by 59.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AYI shares. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $334.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $309.38 and its 200-day moving average is $307.04.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

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.