Forsta AP Fonden Purchases 9,800 Shares of Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Lennox International by 127.3%, acquiring a total of 17,500 shares valued at approximately $9.8 million.
• Lennox International reported earnings per share of $7.82 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and marking a 3.4% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $1.15 to $1.30, reflecting a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of about 22.23%.

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 127.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,500 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Lennox International were worth $9,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lennox International by 8.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lennox International by 24.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 636 shares of the construction company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Lennox International by 227.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 76,149 shares of the construction company's stock worth $46,398,000 after buying an additional 52,888 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Lennox International by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 91,338 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,225,000 after purchasing an additional 16,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennox International by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 62,815 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

LII stock traded up $8.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $590.54. 278,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,822. The company has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. 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 twelve month low of $500.10 and a twelve month high of $689.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $589.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $582.04.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $7.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.90 by $0.92. Lennox International had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 99.81%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.83 earnings per share. Lennox International's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennox International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lennox International news, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,782 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,155,842.96. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LII has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Lennox International from $570.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lennox International from $585.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Lennox International from $696.00 to $753.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Lennox International from $600.00 to $668.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lennox International from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennox International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $635.33.

Lennox International 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.