EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $611,000 in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Free Report) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,621 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Acuity Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AYI opened at $336.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $340.56 and its 200-day moving average is $307.91.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI – Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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 company earned $5.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AYI

Acuity Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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