William Blair Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – William Blair increased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Acuity Brands in a research report issued on Thursday, March 27th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the electronics maker will post earnings of $4.18 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.01. William Blair has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ current full-year earnings is $15.86 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Acuity Brands’ Q2 2026 earnings at $4.05 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.84 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $18.11 EPS.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.10. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The business had revenue of $951.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $955.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $336.00 to $290.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Acuity Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Acuity Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $304.00 to $370.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Acuity Brands from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Acuity Brands from $340.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.60.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $262.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.98. Acuity Brands has a fifty-two week low of $217.64 and a fifty-two week high of $345.30. The firm has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

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.