EAM Global Investors LLC Invests $4.25 Million in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

EAM Global Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,533 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,246,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Acuity Brands by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 7,642 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,026,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth about $83,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI traded down $1.32 on Monday, reaching $227.70. 129,513 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,335. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $345.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $272.08 and a 200-day moving average of $300.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. William Blair upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Acuity Brands from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $317.60.

About Acuity Brands

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.