Lennox International (NYSE:LII) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $565.00 to $455.00. The stock had previously closed at $524.25, but opened at $511.10. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Lennox International shares last traded at $530.92, with a volume of 19,514 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LII. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lennox International in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $595.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upgraded Lennox International from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $665.00 to $702.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lennox International from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $580.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Lennox International from $617.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennox International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $606.15.

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Insider Transactions at Lennox International

In related news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.20, for a total transaction of $124,974.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $825,864.40. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennox International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Lennox International in the third quarter worth $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennox International during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lennox International by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 98 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Lennox International by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 117 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennox International in the third quarter worth approximately $124,000. 67.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennox International Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $583.06 and its 200-day moving average is $610.80.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $1.48. Lennox International had a return on equity of 126.79% and a net margin of 15.11%. Analysts predict that Lennox International Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Lennox International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.