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

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

Several other brokerages have also commented on TOL. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Toll Brothers from $143.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $142.00 to $139.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $189.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Toll Brothers from $156.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Toll Brothers from $155.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.57.

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Toll Brothers Stock Performance

Toll Brothers stock traded down $1.23 on Wednesday, hitting $105.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,337,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,562. Toll Brothers has a one year low of $102.49 and a one year high of $169.52. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.77. 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 fifty day moving average price of $121.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.53.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 18.32%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from Toll Brothers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is 6.88%.

Insider Activity at Toll Brothers

In related news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 3.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $1,404,419.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,599,311.26. This trade represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,785 shares of company stock worth $1,479,185 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Toll Brothers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TOL. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter worth $862,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 304,952 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,409,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Toll Brothers during the 4th quarter worth $1,071,000. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Toll Brothers by 150.7% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the construction company's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,289,000. 91.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.