QV Investors Inc. Lowers Stake in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII)

QV Investors Inc. trimmed its stake in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,119 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,360 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Lennox International were worth $9,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Lennox International by 662.1% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,085 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,549 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Lennox International by 0.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 16,911 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennox International by 35.2% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lennox International by 2.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 404,068 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,973,000 after buying an additional 10,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Lennox International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $710,000. 67.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennox International Trading Up 3.1 %

LII stock opened at $480.24 on Friday. Lennox International Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.00 and a 52-week high of $501.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.01. The firm has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $463.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.00.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Lennox International had a return on equity of 671.77% and a net margin of 11.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lennox International Inc. will post 19.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Lennox International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph William Reitmeier sold 1,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.48, for a total value of $909,956.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,566,818.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Joseph William Reitmeier sold 1,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.48, for a total value of $909,956.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,566,818.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary S. Bedard sold 1,849 shares of Lennox International stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.59, for a total value of $875,667.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,465 shares in the company, valued at $9,692,019.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LII. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lennox International in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $523.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lennox International from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lennox International from $491.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Lennox International from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Lennox International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.08.

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.