Fact based stock research
Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI)

US00508Y1029

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Acuity Brands stock research in summary

acuitybrands.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), Acuity Brands (Electr. Components & Equipment, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Acuity Brands are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 55 (better than 55% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 73), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 78), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on Acuity Brands's financial characteristics. As the company Acuity Brands's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 55), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 73), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 78), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of Acuity Brands. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	55
Growth Rank	73
Safety Rank	78
Combined Rank	98

Country	USA
Industry	Electr. Components & Equipment
Index	Employee Focus US, Diversity USA, S&P MIDCAP
Size class	X-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

14-Nov-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Acuity Brands

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	53	77	71	55
GROWTH
GROWTH	51	41	31	73
SAFETY
SAFETY	42	58	56	78
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	98	73	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	93	74	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 14-Nov-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Aug-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Acuity Brands is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	53	77	71	55
GROWTH
GROWTH	51	41	31	73
SAFETY
SAFETY	42	58	56	78
COMBINED
COMBINED	44	61	54	98

Last update of combined financial performance: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Acuity Brands the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), Acuity Brands shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Acuity Brands. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 62 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 62% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Acuity Brands's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 32, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 32% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 64% of alternatives (only 36% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 29% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 55, is a buy recommendation based on Acuity Brands's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	64	53	39	36
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	72	63	69	62
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	39	56	54	32
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	39	69	69	71
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	53	77	71	55

Last update of Value Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Acuity Brands; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), Acuity Brands shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Acuity Brands. Profit Growth has a rank of 52 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 52% of its competitors. The same is valid for capital growth and stock returns. Capital Growth has a rank of 60, and Stock Returns has a rank of 89 which means that the stock returns have recently been above 89% of alternative investments. Only revenue growth is low with a Sales Growth has a rank of 29 (71% of its competitors are better). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. The many positive growth indicators indicate a positive growth momentum with only low revenue growth. That can also be attributed to divestments or the sale of unprofitable businesses. If that is the reason, overall growth is well on track to making this stock attractive for growth investors. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	34	16	37	29
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	11	37	37	52
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	34	28	60
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	73	95	69	89
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	51	41	31	73

Last update of Growth Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Acuity Brands.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Acuity Brands has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Acuity Brands is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Acuity Brands. Leverage is at a rank of 57, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 57% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 81, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 81% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 37, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 63% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 78 (better than 78% compared with alternatives), Acuity Brands has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Acuity Brands. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Acuity Brands and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	37	56	52	57
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	31	29	31	37
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	74	67	74	81
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	42	58	56	78

Last update of Safety Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Acuity Brands and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	60	25	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	91	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	88	89	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	86	88	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	98	73	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Acuity Brands.
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