The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) Short Interest Update

The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, a decline of 24.1% from the February 28th total of 4,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Toro Stock Down 7.9 %

NYSE TTC traded down $5.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.05. 571,236 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,478. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.72. Toro has a 12 month low of $67.98 and a 12 month high of $100.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Toro announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Toro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Toro's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Toro by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 368 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Toro in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Toro by 195.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Toro by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Toro by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TTC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Toro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Toro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Toro from $88.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Toro from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Toro from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

About Toro

The Toro Company designs, manufactures, markets, and sells professional turf maintenance equipment and services. It operates through two segments: Professional and Residential. The Professional segment offers turf and landscape equipment products, including sports fields and grounds mowing and maintenance equipment, golf course mowing and maintenance equipment, landscape contractor mowing equipment, landscape creation and renovation equipment, and other maintenance equipment; rental, specialty, and underground construction equipment, such as horizontal directional drills, walk and ride trenchers, stand-on skid steers, vacuum excavators, stump grinders, turf renovation products, asset locators, pipe rehabilitation solutions, materials handling equipment, and other after-market tools; and snow and ice management equipment, such as snowplows, as well as stand-on snow and ice removal equipment, such as snowplow, snow brush, and snow thrower attachments, salt and sand spreaders, and related parts and accessories for light and medium duty trucks, utility task vehicles, skid steers, and front-end loaders.