Lennox International (NYSE:LII) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $662.59, but opened at $630.00. Lennox International shares last traded at $623.39, with a volume of 233,933 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $475.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Lennox International from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $648.00 to $656.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Lennox International from $604.00 to $619.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Lennox International in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $595.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $590.50.

Lennox International Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $642.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.11.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $1.48. Lennox International had a return on equity of 148.52% and a net margin of 14.63%. On average, analysts predict that Lennox International Inc. will post 21.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Lennox International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sherry Buck sold 500 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $660.74, for a total value of $330,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,632.82. The trade was a 22.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chris Kosel sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $625.49, for a total transaction of $125,098.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,446 shares in the company, valued at $904,458.54. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,200 shares of company stock worth $793,228 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennox International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LII. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 681 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 47.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Lennox International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 4,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Lennox International in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% 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.