Acuity Brands (AYI) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Acuity Brands (AYI) closed at $170.33, marking a +1.86% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.22% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.26%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 4.63%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the lighting maker had gained 5.11% over the past month. This has lagged the Construction sector's gain of 6.95% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.22% in that time.
Acuity Brands will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be June 29, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Acuity Brands to post earnings of $3.60 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.27%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.04 billion, down 2.26% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $13.74 per share and revenue of $4.06 billion. These totals would mark changes of +7.09% and +1.39%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Acuity Brands. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.07% lower. Acuity Brands is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Acuity Brands's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 12.18. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.91, so we one might conclude that Acuity Brands is trading at a discount comparatively.
It is also worth noting that AYI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.22. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. AYI's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.22 as of yesterday's close.
The Building Products - Lighting industry is part of the Construction sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 62, putting it in the top 25% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow AYI in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Acuity Brands Inc (AYI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
