Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, a drop of 13.8% from the May 31st total of 2,600,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Toll Brothers Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TOL opened at $115.18 on Friday. Toll Brothers has a 1 year low of $68.08 and a 1 year high of $135.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 4.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.66.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.13 by ($0.75). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Toll Brothers will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Toll Brothers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.28%.

Insider Activity at Toll Brothers

In other Toll Brothers news, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $178,980.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,120,295.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $178,980.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,120,295.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 3,806 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.84, for a total value of $463,723.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,012,006.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,670 shares of company stock valued at $2,586,315 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Toll Brothers

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old Port Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Toll Brothers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $733,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 957.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,664 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 20,520 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 346,454 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,821,000 after buying an additional 27,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers during the first quarter worth approximately $860,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TOL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Toll Brothers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Toll Brothers from $141.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Toll Brothers from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.07.

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.