Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,582 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $469,617,000 after acquiring an additional 113,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Acuity by 8.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $177,970,000 after purchasing an additional 47,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Acuity by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $218,071,000 after buying an additional 58,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $334.12 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $342.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.29.

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. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.12 earnings per share. Acuity’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Company 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.