Q1 EPS Estimates for Acuity Brands Raised by William Blair

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) – Investment analysts at William Blair upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Acuity Brands in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the electronics maker will post earnings per share of $3.63 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.50. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ current full-year earnings is $15.51 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $304.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $289.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.00.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $307.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.72. Acuity Brands has a 52-week low of $204.34 and a 52-week high of $337.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 517.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 229.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 244 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $1,561,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,590. The trade was a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

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.