Lennox International (NYSE:LII) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $630.16 and last traded at $628.04, with a volume of 19048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $622.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Lennox International from $575.00 to $624.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lennox International from $570.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp downgraded Lennox International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $583.92.

Lennox International Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $598.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $552.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $6.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.95 by $0.73. Lennox International had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 148.52%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lennox International Inc. will post 21.06 EPS for the current year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Lennox International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lennox International news, EVP John D. Torres sold 581 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.98, for a total value of $360,789.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,668 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,734.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Todd J. Teske sold 2,000 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.05, for a total value of $1,148,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,828,334.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Torres sold 581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,898,734.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,214 shares of company stock worth $7,123,108. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennox International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LII. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Lennox International by 165.0% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 21,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,362,000 after buying an additional 13,200 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Lennox International during the 1st quarter valued at $15,416,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Lennox International by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 55,113 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennox International during the 2nd quarter worth $491,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Lennox International by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 83,311 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,673 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.