Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) Short Interest Update

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the November 30th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 371,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Lennox International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LII traded down $6.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $613.99. 332,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,731. Lennox International has a one year low of $412.09 and a one year high of $682.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. 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 50-day moving average price is $633.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $593.17.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $6.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.73. Lennox International had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 148.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennox International will post 21.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lennox International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Lennox International in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $475.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lennox International from $570.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Lennox International from $648.00 to $656.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp lowered Lennox International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $604.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $579.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennox International

In other news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $625.49, for a total value of $125,098.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,458.54. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Torres sold 581 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.98, for a total value of $360,789.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,668 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,734.64. This represents a 11.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,106 shares of company stock valued at $1,353,233 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennox International

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lennox International in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lennox International in the 3rd quarter worth about $124,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Lennox International by 27.0% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 3,960 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennox International by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 571,095 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,645,000 after purchasing an additional 12,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Lennox International by 0.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 17,333 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,474,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.07% of the company’s stock.

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.