Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Stock Has Average Target Price of $397.17

Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $397.17.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AYI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Trading Up 2.9%

Acuity stock opened at $318.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Acuity has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $332.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.22.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.