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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Toll Brothers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Toll Brothers from $156.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Toll Brothers from $155.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Toll Brothers from $164.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.57.

Toll Brothers Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of Toll Brothers stock opened at $105.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 4.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $118.90 and a 200 day moving average of $136.43. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.77. Toll Brothers has a fifty-two week low of $102.49 and a fifty-two week high of $169.52.

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

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Toll Brothers

In related news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total transaction of $46,443.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,107.88. The trade was a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Toll Brothers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 57.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 135.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 7.2% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,225 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Toll Brothers by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,118,459 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $327,281,000 after buying an additional 1,046,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

Toll Brothers Company Profile

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.