Zacks Research Research Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Acuity Brands in a research note issued on Wednesday, June 19th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ram now anticipates that the electronics maker will earn $16.07 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $16.14. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ current full-year earnings is $14.48 per share.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $905.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.01 million. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 9.81%.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Acuity Brands from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.75.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

Acuity Brands stock opened at $238.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $255.33 and its 200 day moving average is $243.10. Acuity Brands has a twelve month low of $154.72 and a twelve month high of $272.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,149,459 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $235,444,000 after purchasing an additional 45,666 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 12.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 820,077 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $139,667,000 after purchasing an additional 89,192 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Acuity Brands by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 625,077 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $128,035,000 after acquiring an additional 36,488 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Acuity Brands by 14.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 549,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $93,551,000 after acquiring an additional 71,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $68,686,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Acuity Brands

In related news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $49,782. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Acuity Brands news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total transaction of $2,031,048.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,320,062.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $248.91 per share, for a total transaction of $49,782.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,782. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.