Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

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

TOL has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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 reduced their target price on Toll Brothers from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Toll Brothers from $189.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Toll Brothers from $155.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.57.

Toll Brothers Stock Down 3.4 %

TOL stock opened at $105.15 on Friday. Toll Brothers has a twelve month low of $102.49 and a twelve month high of $169.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 4.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.48.

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

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a boost from Toll Brothers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Toll Brothers news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $1,404,419.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,599,311.26. This trade represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,764 shares of company stock worth $1,476,523 over the last three months. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toll Brothers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Toll Brothers by 57.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 91.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.