Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $350.00 and last traded at $355.83, with a volume of 4835 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $344.39.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 5.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AYI shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Acuity from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.17.

Acuity Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.76.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Acuity by 1,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 525.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 3,175.0% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Acuity

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.