Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYIFree Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on AYI. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

View Our Latest Research Report on Acuity

Acuity Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $336.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Acuity (NYSE:AYIGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Acuity will post 18.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Acuity

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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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