Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

TOL has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $142.00 to $139.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Toll Brothers from $164.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.57.

Toll Brothers Stock Down 3.4 %

Toll Brothers stock opened at $105.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.48. Toll Brothers has a 1-year low of $102.49 and a 1-year high of $169.52. The company has a current ratio of 4.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 18.32%. On average, analysts predict that Toll Brothers will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Toll Brothers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.88%.

Insider Transactions at Toll Brothers

In other news, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total transaction of $1,404,419.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,599,311.26. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total value of $46,443.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,107.88. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,764 shares of company stock worth $1,476,523. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toll Brothers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Toll Brothers in the 4th quarter worth about $1,117,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Toll Brothers by 5.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 180,023 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,659,000 after purchasing an additional 9,195 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Toll Brothers during the 3rd quarter worth $12,506,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in Toll Brothers by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,005 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,226,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $154,449,000 after buying an additional 341,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

About Toll Brothers

Toll Brothers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, markets, sells, and arranges finance for a range of detached and attached homes in luxury residential communities in the United States. It designs, builds, markets, and sells condominiums through Toll Brothers City Living. The company also develops a range of single-story living and first-floor primary bedroom suite home designs, as well as communities with recreational amenities, such as golf courses, marinas, pool complexes, country clubs, and fitness and recreation centers; and develops, operates, and rents apartments.