Acuity Brands drops after William Blair downgrade

Acuity

23/06/2022 15:02

** Shares of Acuity Brands  AYI.N  down 5.8% to $146.03 on
Thurs, fall to lowest point since March 2021
    ** William Blair downgrades AYI to "market perform" in
report on Thurs, citing "increased uncertainty and our lack of
confidence in 2023 EPS estimates"
    ** "Acuity should beat Street EPS for the fiscal third
quarter, but our lighting survey indicates slower demand next
quarter and price inflation may have peaked," analyst Ryan
Merkel says in note
    ** "As the economy slows due to rising rates and declining
business confidence, we expect sales to decline in 2023," Merkel
says
    ** AYI set to report fiscal Q3 results on June 30
    ** Of 11 analysts, 5 rate stock "buy" or "strong buy", 6
rate "hold", per Refinitiv; median PT of $200.50
    ** YTD, AYI shares down ~31% vs ~19% drop for S&P 1500
industrials sector  .SPCOMI , including Thurs trading

 (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf)
 ((lewis.krauskopf@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6082; Reuters
Messaging: lewis.krauskopf.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net,
Twitter: @LKrauskopf))