BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Position in Lennox International, Inc. $LII

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets has reduced its stake in Lennox International, Inc. by 12.3%, now owning 66,758 shares valued at approximately $37.44 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their stakes in Lennox, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an astounding 69,429.8% during the first quarter.
• Lennox International reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $7.82 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $6.90, and expects to post an EPS of 22.94 for the current fiscal year.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,758 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,391 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.19% of Lennox International worth $37,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lennox International by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Lennox International by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 421 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lennox International by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 636 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 67.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In related news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.86, for a total transaction of $177,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,764.52. The trade was a 18.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,782 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.04, for a total transaction of $1,864,051.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,155,842.96. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Lennox International from $600.00 to $668.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Lennox International from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lennox International from $619.00 to $691.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $696.00 to $753.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lennox International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $635.33.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LII traded up $16.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $561.72. The stock had a trading volume of 378,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,454. The company has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $597.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $579.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Lennox International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $500.10 and a 1 year high of $689.44.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $7.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.90 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Lennox International had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 99.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.83 earnings per share. Lennox International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.250-24.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Lennox International

Lennox International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a range of products for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The Home Comfort Solutions segment provides furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, packaged heating and cooling systems, indoor air quality equipment, comfort control products, and replacement parts and supplies; residential heating, ventilation, cooling equipment, and air conditioning; and evaporator coils and unit heaters under Lennox, Dave Lennox Signature Collection, Armstrong Air, Ducane, AirEase, Concord, MagicPak, Advanced Distributor Products, Allied, Elite Series, Merit Series, Comfort Sync, Healthy Climate, iComfort, ComfortSense, and Lennox Stores name.