Dividend.com: Acuity Brands Pressured
10/07/08 - 01:47 PM EDT
Tom Reese and Paul Rubillo
Acuity Brands Earnings Fall, Will Cut Jobs
Lighting equipment maker Acuity Brands(AYI Quote - Cramer on AYI - Stock Picks) just reported profit for the fiscal fourth quarter that fell 19% amid rising costs and weak demand in the residential housing market. The company sees a decrease in U.S. construction spending as a result of weak economic conditions and tighter lending requirements. The recent spike in commodities prices -- particularly steel -- is likely to pressure its margins as well. Acuity also announced a reduction in its workforce that will encompass about 800 personnel -- including both manufacturing positions and salaried positions in mostly non-customer interfacing areas of the business. This is yet another company that is beginning to look cheaper from a valuation standpoint at nearly 10 times this year's earnings. The company's dividend of 1.41% -- based on last night's closing stock price of $36.81 -- is a bit low. We would again like to see the company build some support at these levels before we reconsider our ratings. Acuity Brands is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars. Corning Reaffirms on Data Through August Corning(GLW Quote - Cramer on GLW - Stock Picks), has reaffirmed guidance that it previously lowered in September -- which was for EPS to be in a range of 43 cents to 45 cents. The company did say it would cut capital spending in 2008 and 2009. The company also has stopped outside hiring and may curtail production capacity because of spreading economic worries. It appears that the reaffirming freeze is over -- and Corning is back to reassuring investors that the quarter will be fine. The big concern we have is that the guidance is based on data the company has compiled only through August. We would like to know how September ended up, but we'll likely have to wait until the company reports. We would hold off on these shares for now, until we get more clarity on the company's efforts to control costs. The company has a dividend yield of 1.43% -- based on last night's closing stock price of $22.61. Corning is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars.
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