Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Short Interest Update

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a growth of 26.0% from the March 15th total of 864,800 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 263,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity at Acuity Brands

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of Acuity Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total transaction of $2,031,048.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Dianne S. Mills sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.11, for a total transaction of $1,350,660.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,590.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 224,289 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,941,000 after acquiring an additional 4,694 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,103,793 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $187,987,000 after buying an additional 161,818 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Acuity Brands by 12.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity Brands in the third quarter worth $414,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 285,055 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $48,548,000 after acquiring an additional 16,042 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AYI traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $252.39. The company had a trading volume of 241,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,025. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $254.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Acuity Brands has a one year low of $149.30 and a one year high of $272.74. The stock has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.49.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 5.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 lifted their target price on Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.25.

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.