William Blair Equities Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Equities researchers at William Blair decreased their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Acuity Brands in a report released on Thursday, June 27th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the electronics maker will earn $3.87 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.09. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ current full-year earnings is $14.16 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Acuity Brands’ Q4 2024 earnings at $3.73 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.14 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.69 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.43 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $4.30 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Acuity Brands from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Acuity Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Acuity Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $279.00.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $241.44 on Friday. Acuity Brands has a one year low of $154.72 and a one year high of $272.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.77.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.23. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $905.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $897.01 million.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $49,782. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,782. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of Acuity Brands 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,320,062.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity Brands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 133 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Acuity Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 5,666.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Acuity Brands

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.