Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) Receives $583.71 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

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

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut Lennox International from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $675.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lennox International from $702.00 to $696.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lennox International from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lennox International from $608.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lennox International from $585.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In other news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 509 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $568.05, for a total value of $289,137.45. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,655.10. This trade represents a 24.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lennox International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Lennox International in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lennox International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennox International by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Lennox International by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 117 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lennox International in the first quarter valued at $114,000. 67.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennox International Price Performance

Shares of LII stock traded down $6.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $572.84. The stock had a trading volume of 152,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,695. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Lennox International has a 12 month low of $483.42 and a 12 month high of $682.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $561.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $601.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Lennox International had a return on equity of 126.79% and a net margin of 15.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lennox International will post 22.94 EPS for the current year.

Lennox International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Lennox International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lennox International's payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

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