Key Points
- Director Laura O'Shaughnessy purchased 73 Acuity shares at an average price of $302.32, investing $22,069.36 and increasing her ownership by 2.35% to 3,184 shares.
- Acuity reported quarterly EPS of $5.77, beating estimates by $0.20, while revenue reached $1.24 billion and rose 2.9% year over year.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 dividend and a 0.3% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $374.20.
Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) Director Laura O'shaughnessy purchased 73 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $302.32 per share, with a total value of $22,069.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $962,586.88. This represents a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Acuity Trading Up 0.6%
NYSE:AYI opened at $310.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.28.
Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.57 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Acuity Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given 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 yield of 0.3%. Acuity's payout ratio is presently 4.68%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 8.8% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 42,944 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in Acuity by 63.7% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 20,170 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $7,597,000 after purchasing an additional 7,846 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its position in Acuity by 176.5% during the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 44,803 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $12,555,000 after buying an additional 28,600 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $1,450,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Acuity by 1,834.0% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 21,235 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,950,000 after buying an additional 20,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair downgraded Acuity from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $374.20.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AYI
About Acuity
(
Get Free Report)
Acuity (NYSE: AYI), formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.
The company's offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.
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