Short Interest in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) Grows By 16.7%

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,330,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the November 15th total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 246,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Lennox International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LII traded down $9.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $658.75. The company had a trading volume of 26,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. Lennox International has a 12-month low of $412.09 and a 12-month high of $682.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $628.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $585.00.

Lennox International (NYSE:LII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $6.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Lennox International had a return on equity of 148.52% and a net margin of 14.63%. Lennox International’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lennox International will post 21.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennox International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lennox International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.84%.

Insider Activity at Lennox International

In other Lennox International news, CAO Chris Kosel sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $625.49, for a total transaction of $125,098.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,446 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sherry Buck sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $660.74, for a total value of $330,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,118,632.82. The trade was a 22.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,106 shares of company stock valued at $1,353,233. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lennox International by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 571,095 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,645,000 after buying an additional 12,183 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Lennox International by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,060,000 after buying an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Lennox International by 7.3% during 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 buying an additional 5,673 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $33,304,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Lennox International by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 51,263 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,978,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LII shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Northcoast Research began coverage on Lennox International in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $475.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on Lennox International from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lennox International from $570.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Lennox International from $648.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $579.38.

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.