Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Acuity Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $188.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.00.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Acuity Brands stock opened at $185.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $186.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.76. Acuity Brands has a 52-week low of $142.71 and a 52-week high of $202.90.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 9th. The electronics maker reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $997.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $984.46 million. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Acuity Brands will post 12.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 2,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.31, for a total transaction of $385,399.41. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,429.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total transaction of $739,573.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,941,540.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 2,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.31, for a total transaction of $385,399.41. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,429.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 40,983 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,787,000 after buying an additional 6,227 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 55,583 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

About Acuity Brands

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Acuity Brands, Inc operates as an industrial technology company, which engages in the provision of lighting and building management solutions and services. It operates through the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls and Intelligent Spaces Group segments. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.