Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Price Target Lowered to $370.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $385.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AYI. Zacks Research downgraded Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.33.

Acuity Trading Down 4.9%

AYI stock opened at $281.13 on Tuesday. Acuity has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $325.90 and its 200 day moving average is $342.38. The company has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Acuity will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s payout ratio is 6.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Acuity by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 1,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 9.1% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 6,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 51.7% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

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.