Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 12th, 2023

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,231 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AYI. Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 197 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 365 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 2,926.7% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 454 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AYI. StockNews.com began coverage on Acuity Brands in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Acuity Brands from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Acuity Brands from $201.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $193.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.88.

Insider Transactions at Acuity Brands

In other Acuity Brands news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 632 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $158.05 per share, with a total value of $99,887.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $333,643.55. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $156.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.01. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.71 and a 1 year high of $202.90.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 4th. The electronics maker reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $943.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.99 million. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 22.20% and a net margin of 9.22%. Analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 14th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.56%.

Acuity Brands Profile

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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.