Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Lennox International, Inc. (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $583.71.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lennox International from $625.00 to $570.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $580.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lennox International from $455.00 to $549.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Lennox International in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Lennox International from $702.00 to $696.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total transaction of $289,137.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $898,655.10. This trade represents a 24.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennox International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International during the first quarter worth $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lennox International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lennox International by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position 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 worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennox International during the first quarter worth $114,000. Institutional investors own 67.07% of the company's stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

NYSE LII opened at $547.04 on Thursday. Lennox International has a twelve month low of $500.10 and a twelve month high of $682.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $560.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $592.39.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Lennox International had a return on equity of 106.05% and a net margin of 14.96%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lennox International will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Lennox International declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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.

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