Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Free Report) by 63.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,725 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 16,605 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Acuity by 6,496.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after purchasing an additional 681,696 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $138,747,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,539,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $78,249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AYI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.
Acuity Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $328.53 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $324.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.93. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17.
Acuity (NYSE:AYI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Acuity Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.31%.
About Acuity
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.
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