Brokers Set Expectations for Acuity Brands, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:AYI)

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Zacks Research raised their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Acuity Brands in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 16th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ram now forecasts that the electronics maker will earn $3.68 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.43. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ current full-year earnings is $14.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Acuity Brands’ Q4 2024 earnings at $3.94 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.16 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.55 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.44 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.88 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.19 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $15.06 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.77 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $16.09 EPS.

AYI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.25.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $247.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.59. Acuity Brands has a fifty-two week low of $149.30 and a fifty-two week high of $272.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AYI. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 133 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Acuity Brands by 5,666.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Acuity Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Acuity Brands Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.