Trexquant Investment LP Purchases New Shares in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 13th, 2023

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,470 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,491,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 197 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,708 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $190.01 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.53. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.71 and a twelve month high of $202.90. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 9th. The electronics maker reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $997.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $984.46 million. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 9.11%. Acuity Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 4.74%.

Insider Activity at Acuity Brands

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total transaction of $739,573.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,941,540.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,238 shares of Acuity Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.51, for a total value of $739,573.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 is available through this link. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 2,211 shares of Acuity Brands 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Acuity Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $188.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Acuity Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday, December 16th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

About Acuity Brands

(Get Rating)

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.