Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Lennox International, Inc. $LII

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Lennox International by 118.3%, acquiring 50,188 additional shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.26% of the company, valued at around $51.93 million.
• In recent analyst activity, UBS Group raised its target price for Lennox International from $570.00 to $676.00, while Barclays increased theirs from $696.00 to $753.00, reflecting significantly positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Lennox International's Board of Directors has authorized a $1.00 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company’s valuation, along with a recent quarterly dividend increase from $1.15 to $1.30.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) by 118.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,618 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.26% of Lennox International worth $51,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. 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 worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Lennox International by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 520 shares of the construction company's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Lennox International by 182.1% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 17,068 shares of the construction company's stock worth $10,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its position in Lennox International by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 10,571 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,441,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Lennox International by 247.1% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 26,620 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,220,000 after purchasing an additional 18,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LII. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lennox International from $570.00 to $676.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $619.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Lennox International from $585.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $600.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $635.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennox International

In other Lennox International news, EVP Daniel M. Sessa sold 2,782 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 31,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,155,842.96. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LII traded up $7.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $599.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 90,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,687. The company has a 50-day moving average of $592.66 and a 200-day moving average of $581.02. The firm has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Lennox International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $500.10 and a 12 month high of $689.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.83 EPS. Lennox International's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

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

Lennox International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.