Acuity Brands (AYI) Competitors

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) and Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer AYI or ROK?

In the previous week, Rockwell Automation had 21 more articles in the media than Acuity Brands. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Rockwell Automation and 8 mentions for Acuity Brands. Acuity Brands' average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Rockwell Automation's score of 1.02 indicating that Acuity Brands is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Acuity Brands	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Rockwell Automation	16 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AYI or ROK a better dividend stock?

Acuity Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Rockwell Automation pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Acuity Brands pays out 4.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rockwell Automation pays out 60.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Rockwell Automation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is AYI or ROK more profitable?

Rockwell Automation has a net margin of 11.53% compared to Acuity Brands' net margin of 11.00%. Rockwell Automation's return on equity of 30.42% beat Acuity Brands' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acuity Brands	11.00%	20.49%	12.55%
Rockwell Automation	11.53%	30.42%	9.90%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor AYI or ROK?

Acuity Brands received 87 more outperform votes than Rockwell Automation when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.92% of users gave Acuity Brands an outperform vote while only 55.06% of users gave Rockwell Automation an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Acuity Brands	Outperform Votes 707 67.92%	Underperform Votes 334 32.08%
Rockwell Automation	Outperform Votes 620 55.06%	Underperform Votes 506 44.94%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, AYI or ROK?

Rockwell Automation has higher revenue and earnings than Acuity Brands. Acuity Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rockwell Automation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acuity Brands	$3.84B	2.54	$422.60M	$13.44	23.48
Rockwell Automation	$8.26B	3.83	$952.50M	$8.28	33.83

Do analysts recommend AYI or ROK?

Acuity Brands currently has a consensus price target of $324.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.66%. Rockwell Automation has a consensus price target of $286.13, indicating a potential upside of 2.16%. Given Acuity Brands' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Acuity Brands is more favorable than Rockwell Automation.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acuity Brands	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Rockwell Automation	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in AYI or ROK?

98.2% of Acuity Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.8% of Rockwell Automation shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Acuity Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Rockwell Automation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, AYI or ROK?

Acuity Brands has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rockwell Automation has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Acuity Brands beats Rockwell Automation on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.