Key Points
- Insider sale: SVP Barry Goldman sold 3,800 Acuity shares for approximately $1.22 million at an average price of $321.48. The sale, which covered tax withholding related to vested equity awards, reduced his direct ownership by 36.61% to 6,580 shares.
- Financial performance: Acuity reported quarterly earnings of $5.77 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.20, while revenue reached $1.24 billion and increased 2.9% year over year.
- Market outlook: Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $374.20, despite several firms recently lowering their targets. Acuity also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.2% yield.
Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) SVP Barry Goldman sold 3,800 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.48, for a total value of $1,221,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,115,338.40. This represents a 36.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
Acuity Price Performance
Shares of AYI stock opened at $323.26 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $316.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.92. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.30.
Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.57 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current year.
Acuity Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.68%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AYI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair cut shares of Acuity from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $374.20.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Acuity
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 11,405 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 20,229 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $6,267,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 41.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 8.3% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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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