At US$265, Is Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Worth Looking At Closely?

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI), is not the largest company out there, but it saw a decent share price growth of 13% on the NYSE over the last few months. The recent jump in the share price has meant that the company is trading around its 52-week high. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Acuity Brands’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for Acuity Brands

What's The Opportunity In Acuity Brands?

The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to our valuation model. It’s trading around 15% below our intrinsic value, which means if you buy Acuity Brands today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company’s true value is $312.18, then there’s not much of an upside to gain from mispricing. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Acuity Brands’s share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What kind of growth will Acuity Brands generate?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Acuity Brands' earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in AYI’s positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on AYI, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. While conducting our analysis, we found that Acuity Brands has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

If you are no longer interested in Acuity Brands, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.