Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 2,531 Lennox International, Inc. $LII

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $1.42 million in Lennox International by acquiring 2,531 shares in the first quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Lennox International reported a Q2 EPS of $7.82, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.90, with revenue up 3.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $1 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its valuation and intentions to enhance shareholder value.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,531 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,419,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lennox International by 69,429.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 356,688 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $200,041,000 after buying an additional 356,175 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 118.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 92,618 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,932,000 after buying an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 33.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 189,571 shares of the construction company's stock worth $103,661,000 after buying an additional 47,170 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 3,851.0% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 20,545 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,522,000 after buying an additional 20,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Lennox International by 25.3% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,595 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,369,000 after purchasing an additional 18,502 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Trading Down 0.3%

LII stock traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $540.20. The stock had a trading volume of 380,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,579. The firm has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $500.10 and a 12-month high of $689.44. The company's 50-day moving average price is $588.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $574.18.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $7.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $6.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Lennox International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.250-24.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lennox International, Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LII. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $550.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Lennox International from $730.00 to $675.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $570.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $628.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennox International

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,155,842.96. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Chris Kosel sold 300 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.86, for a total transaction of $177,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,282 shares in the company, valued at $758,764.52. The trade was a 18.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

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.