Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII)

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,375 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $771,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennox International by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Lennox International by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 117 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of LII stock traded up $2.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $567.05. 484,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,481. Lennox International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $500.10 and a fifty-two week high of $682.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $561.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $587.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.12. Lennox International had a return on equity of 106.05% and a net margin of 14.96%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.47 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Lennox International's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Lennox International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LII has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lennox International from $585.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Lennox International from $580.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer raised Lennox International from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lennox International from $608.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennox International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $582.46.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In related news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total value of $289,137.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,655.10. This represents a 24.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Company Profile

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.