DailyIQ
Last updated1 minute ago

AYI·Acuity Inc.

$303.20
-1.64 (-0.54%)
After Hours
High
$310.61
Open
$306.80
Market Cap
9.13B
52W High
$380.17
Low
$302.13
P. Close
$303.20
P/E
17.18
52W Low
$257.04
Fwd P/E
13.09
DailyIQ Est.
$386.62
Inst. Ownership
0.4%
Short Interest
3.59%
Days to Cover
5.1
Technical Score (1D)
32
BEARISH
News Sentiment
61
BULLISH
On Oct 4, Acuity Brands reported a shift in its revenue mix, with 25 % of sales now coming from high‑margin building intelligence products, up from 17.6 % a year earlier. The company also disclosed $747.9 million in annual free cash flow and gross margins above 50 %, underscoring its growing profitability. Analysts noted that the shift could strengthen earnings over the long term, but uncertainty remained about the impact of a softer commercial lighting cycle. Despite the operational upside, the stock was trading at only 14.10 times forward earnings, suggesting the market had not fully priced in the transformation. The report highlighted that the company’s new focus on building controls and audio‑video systems could offer higher margins, but the market’s valuation implied that this potential had not yet been fully reflected.
LOW TARGET
$345 +13.9%
2 analysts
MEAN TARGET
$379 +25.2%
6 analysts
HIGH TARGET
$440 +45.2%
6 analysts
PRICE RANGE
$345.00 - $440.00
SB / B / H / S / SS
3/5/4/1/1
DAILYIQ EST.
$386.62 (+27.6%)
Bought (1Y)
0 shares
$0
Sold (1Y)
5,276 shares
$1.7M
Tzitzon Nicholas-
Award/Grant296 shares2026-09-24
HOLCOM KAREN JSVP & Chief Financial Officer
Sell2,000 shares2026-09-01
GOLDMAN BARRY RSVP & General Counsel
Sell1,200 shares2026-07-02
HOLCOM KAREN JSVP & Chief Financial Officer
Sell2,076 shares2026-06-01
78/ 100
Bullish
Overall: Bullish
✓Revenue growing year over year
✓Positive net margin
✓Positive operating cash flow
Gross Margin
47.8%
Net Margin
9.1%
Revenue CAGR
6.2%
Current Ratio
1.95x
Debt / Equity
0.33x
Return on Equity
14.6%

EPS

EstBeatMiss
$4.70$5.00$5.30$5.61$5.91Q3'25Q4'26
QtrEstActual+/−
Q4'26$5.02$5.77+15.0%
Q3'25$4.84$5.20+7.5%

Revenue

EstBeatMiss
$1.2B$1.2B$1.2B$1.2B$1.3BQ3'25Q4'26
QtrEstActual+/−
Q4'26$1.3B$1.2B-1.0%
Q3'25 - $1.2B -

Market Data

AYI Stock Snapshot

BEARISH32/100
$302.98−$0.22 (0.1%)
Market cap
9.13B
P/E ratio
17.2
Day range
$302.13 – $310.61
News sentiment
61/100 · Bullish
Analyst target
$379.33 (+25.2%)
Consensus
Buy · 14 analysts
52-week range+17.9% off low · -20.3% from high
$257.04$380.17
Price $302.98 DailyIQ Est. $386.62

Price action on AYI is defensive - rallies are being sold rather than extended. At this size, a single catalyst moves the stock further than it would a larger peer.

Reverse DCF

What growth is priced into AYI?

FAIR

At today's price, Acuity Inc. needs to grow free cash flow about 10.1% a year for the next 10 years to justify its valuation at a 10.05% cost of capital. Over its actual history it has compounded free cash flow at 12.0% a year, so the market is asking for 1.9 percentage points below its own delivered rate. On that basis AYI looks priced roughly in line with its own growth record.

Implied FCF growth
10.1%
Historical FCF CAGR
12.0%
Growth gap
-1.9 pts
Verdict
FAIR
Discount rate (WACC)
10.05%
Beta
1.08

Behaviour On Record

What AYI's own history says about today's numbers

Realized volatility (21d)
33.6% 64th pct
Below its peak
-19.4%
vs 200-day average
-3.0%
Up days (1y)
54%

Acuity Inc. is currently running 33.6% annualised volatility over the last 21 sessions. Measured against AYI's own 13 years of daily returns rather than a market-wide average, that is the 64th percentile — a little above its own norm, against a typical reading of 28.9%. The distinction matters because a number that looks calm for one stock is turbulent for another, and the absolute figure on its own tells you neither.

AYI is trading -19.4% below its running peak. Across 12 full years on file, its median worst-drawdown-in-a-year was -26.8%, and the deepest was -50.2% in 2020. The current pullback is therefore shallower than what this stock gives back in a typical year, which is context worth having before treating it as a dislocation.

Price sits -3.0% from its 200-day moving average. Against every other day in its history, that gap ranks at the 38th percentile — close to the gap it normally carries. Over the past year AYI closed higher on 54% of sessions, and it is currently 1 session into a falling streak.

On October specifically: over 13 years of records, AYI finished the month higher 7 of 13 times, with a median return of +0.4% and an average of +1.2%. Its strongest month historically has been June at +5.7% on average, its weakest April at -2.5%. Seasonality is a weak signal on its own — a decade is a small sample and regimes change — but it is a real distribution rather than a rule of thumb.

Overnight risk is measurable too: AYI has opened more than 2% away from the prior close in 139 of 3,267 sessions (4.3% of the time), with the largest gaps running +9.2% and -19.1%. For anyone holding through an event, that rate is a better guide to overnight exposure than the intraday range.

All figures computed from 3,268 daily closes between 2013-10-07 and 2026-10-05, split-adjusted, recomputed daily. Percentiles are against AYI's own 13-year history, not a peer group or index.

Sector Rotation

Is money rotating into or out of AYI's sector?

Acuity Inc. sits in the Consumer Discretionary sector, currently ranked 6th of 12 GICS sectors by relative-strength rotation score (improving).

Sector rank
#6 of 12
Sector state
Improving
Sector rotation score
64

Options Market

What is the options market pricing for AYI?

CallsPuts

For Acuity Inc.'s nearest expiry (2026-10-16, 10 days out), open interest is roughly balanced between puts and calls (put/call ratio of 0.92), with at-the-money implied volatility around 35.8%. The options market is pricing roughly a ±5.9% move by that expiry — a range of about $290.61–$326.91.

Put/call ratio (2026-10-16)
0.92
ATM implied volatility
35.8%
Total open interest
886
Expected move by 2026-10-16
±5.9% ($290.61–$326.91)

Analyst Rating Changes

Are analysts turning bullish or bearish on AYI?

Baird most recently reiterated its rating on Acuity Inc. to Neutral on Oct 2, 2026 with a price target of $348 (from $360). Over the last 90 days, coverage has run 0 upgrades against 1 downgrade, a net bearish lean.

Latest action
Baird — Neutral
90-day upgrades
0
90-day downgrades
1
Net rating momentum
-1
DateFirmActionRatingPrice target
Oct 2, 2026BairdMaintainedNeutral$360 → $348
Sep 29, 2026BairdMaintainedNeutral$390 → $360
Sep 28, 2026William BlairDowngradeOutperform → Market Perform-
Jul 1, 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainedOverweight$400 → $410
Jun 26, 2026Goldman SachsMaintainedNeutral$295 → $358
Jun 26, 2026BairdMaintainedNeutral$315 → $390
Apr 6, 2026Goldman SachsMaintainedNeutral$342 → $295
Apr 6, 2026BairdMaintainedNeutral$320 → $315
Mar 25, 2026BairdMaintainedNeutral$375 → $320
Mar 3, 2026Wells FargoMaintainedOverweight$385 → $370
Jan 12, 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainedOverweight$425 → $410
Oct 2, 2025Morgan StanleyMaintainedOverweight$365 → $425

News Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment gathered from recent headlines

61/100
Strong NegativeNeutralStrong Positive
MODERATELY BULLISH

Recent News Coverage

Most recent articles, ranked by recency (click to expand).

10+ articles
What did this article say?
Acuity Inc. (AYI) has shifted a quarter of its revenue to building controls and audio‑video systems, sectors with higher margins than its traditional commercial lighting business. The company reports strong free cash flow of $747.9 million and gross margins above 50%, indicating a solid financial foundation. Despite these positive fundamentals, the stock trades at only 14.10 times forward earnings, suggesting the market has not yet fully priced in the transformation. The narrative highlights Acuity’s disciplined share repurchases and technology integration as drivers of future earnings growth. Overall, the article presents a mild tailwind for the company, but the valuation gap indicates the upside is not yet fully reflected in the share price.
What did this article say?
Acuity Brands reported Q3 2026 revenue of $1.24 billion, slightly below analyst expectations, while its non‑GAAP earnings per share rose to $5.77, beating estimates by 3.8%. Operating margin climbed to 16.1% from 14.9% a year earlier, driven by stronger Intelligent Spaces performance and lighting segment margin expansion. The mixed top‑line result prompted a cautious market reaction, but the company’s profitability gains suggest resilient cost control and product mix strength.
What did this article say?
On October 2, 2026, a Yahoo news roundup highlighted several companies, including AYI, ACN, MCK, and PRGS. The release did not provide any specific financial updates or operational developments for AYI. The mention served primarily to acknowledge AYI’s presence in the broader market landscape. No material events or guidance changes were reported that would affect AYI’s valuation or outlook.
What did this article say?
On October 1, 2026, Acuity Brands reported fiscal 2026 fourth‑quarter and full‑year results. Net sales rose 6.8% to $4.6 billion, driven by a 16.6% increase in the intelligent spaces segment. Adjusted diluted EPS climbed 11% to $5.77, and gross profit margin expanded by 130 basis points to 50.2%. The company’s lighting segment saw a slight decline, while overall profitability improved due to higher‑margin contributions.
What did this article say?
Acuity Brands (AYI) reported third‑quarter 2026 sales of $1.24 billion, 2.9% higher year‑over‑year but below the $1.26 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.77 surpassed the $5.56 forecast, while GAAP diluted EPS reached $5.63. The company also disclosed $17.8 million in special charges, including $14.7 million for lighting initiatives and a $3.1 million impairment. The market reacted negatively, with the stock falling 5.3% before partially recovering to close 4.2% lower than the prior day. The earnings beat was offset by the revenue miss and the special charges, leading to a modest negative outlook for the quarter.
What did this article say?
Acuity Brands, ticker AYI, announced a strategic shift toward industrial technology and AI integration during its Q4 2026 earnings call. Management highlighted the appointment of Ruth Gratzke as President of Acuity Brands Lighting to deepen infrastructure market focus and emphasized Acuity Intelligent Spaces as a growing quarter‑business segment. The company outlined a new operating system aimed at improving free cash flow and product development speed, positioning itself as a compounder with a data‑driven architecture.
What did this article say?
Acuity Inc. reported Q4 2026 results with net sales rising 3% to $1.2 billion, driven largely by a 17% increase in AIS sales. Adjusted gross profit margin improved by 130 basis points to 50.2%, while operating profit margin edged up to 18.7%. AIS contributed a higher margin of 61.2%, offsetting a modest decline in ABL operating profit. Cash flow remained robust, supporting the company’s liquidity position. These figures suggest a solid operational performance and margin resilience for the quarter.
What did this article say?
Acuity (AYI) announced its fiscal 2026 fourth‑quarter results on October 1, reporting a 3% year‑over‑year increase in net sales to $1.2 billion. Adjusted profit and adjusted earnings per share both rose, driven by growth in the Acuity Intelligent Spaces segment. The company noted a modest decline in its lighting business, which was offset by the Intelligent Spaces gains. These results suggest a solid performance for the quarter, though the company did not provide forward guidance or significant new initiatives.
What did this article say?
Acuity Inc. saw its shares rise 2.23% in pre‑market trading after reporting fourth‑quarter adjusted earnings of $5.77 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $5.66. Revenue increased 3% year‑over‑year to $1.24 billion, slightly below the $1.25 billion consensus. The company noted solid execution and a 3.4% rise in adjusted operating profit to $232.9 million, with an operating margin of 18.7%.

Technical Analysis

Real-time indicators across multiple timeframes

32
BEARISH
Technical indicators reflect the latest computed signal mix for this timeframe.
Unlock full technicals
Create a free account to access more indicators and deeper timeframe data.
Institutional & Hedge Fund Ownership
1 tracked managers · $46.80M combined position · 0 adding, 0 trimming, 1 unchanged (latest 13F filings)
ManagerTrendShares Held% of Co.Position ValueFiled
Citadel Advisors LLC• Hold124,2520.41%$46.80M2026-09-02
Q2 2026 flow:124.3K sh bought ($46.80M)0 sh sold ($0)net +124.3K sh (+$46.80M)
Congressional Trading Activity
2 disclosed trades · ~$65.0K est. traded value · 1 buys, 1 sells
MemberChamberStateTypeAmountTradedFiled
Susan M. CollinsSenateME▼ Sell$15K - $50K2018-01-312018-02-08
Susan M. CollinsSenateME▲ Buy$15K - $50K2015-02-202016-05-03