Lennox International (NYSE:LII) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Free Report) in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an underweight rating and a $595.00 price objective on the construction company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Lennox International from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp downgraded Lennox International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "sell" rating and a $475.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lennox International from $624.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Lennox International from $604.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $590.50.

Lennox International Stock Performance

LII stock traded down $3.25 on Monday, hitting $609.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 364,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,816. The stock has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $633.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $595.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Lennox International has a 1 year low of $412.09 and a 1 year high of $682.50.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $6.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Lennox International had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 148.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lennox International will post 21.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Lennox International

In related news, Director Shane D. Wall sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.97, for a total value of $199,215.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,247,393.95. This trade represents a 13.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Todd J. Teske sold 500 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $675.52, for a total value of $337,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,911 shares in the company, valued at $5,344,038.72. The trade was a 5.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,106 shares of company stock worth $1,353,233. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennox International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Lennox International by 47.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 71 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Lennox International by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 5,335 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 665 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Lennox International during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennox International in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.