Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI)

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $304.00 price target on the electronics maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.24% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair raised shares of Acuity Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.00.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $304.72 on Monday. Acuity Brands has a one year low of $204.34 and a one year high of $337.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $314.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.68.

Insider Transactions at Acuity Brands

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,590. This represents a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity Brands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 105.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,363 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 10,470 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,622 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 11.0% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 29,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Trium Capital LLP raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 28.9% in the second quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 2,430 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 202.9% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,388 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 6,289 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.