Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $606.00.

LII has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $674.00 to $665.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Lennox International from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $675.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Lennox International in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $595.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $580.00 price objective (down previously from $630.00) on shares of Lennox International in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Lennox International in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $475.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In related news, Director Sherry Buck sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,118,632.82. This represents a 22.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennox International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lennox International by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 889,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $542,374,000 after buying an additional 317,937 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Lennox International by 500.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 94,086 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,326,000 after acquiring an additional 78,406 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Lennox International by 227.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 76,149 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,398,000 after acquiring an additional 52,888 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lennox International by 469.6% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 21,053 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.07% of the company’s stock.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of LII stock opened at $641.74 on Friday. Lennox International has a one year low of $444.46 and a one year high of $682.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $624.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $611.80.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.12 by $1.48. Lennox International had a return on equity of 126.79% and a net margin of 15.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennox International will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Lennox International’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

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.