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

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on TOL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (down previously from $166.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Toll Brothers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Toll Brothers from $115.00 to $101.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.57.

Toll Brothers Stock Performance

Shares of Toll Brothers stock opened at $109.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.77. Toll Brothers has a 52 week low of $102.49 and a 52 week high of $169.52.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last announced its quarterly 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). Toll Brothers had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 14.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Toll Brothers will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Toll Brothers

In related news, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,599,311.26. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine Garvey sold 204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total value of $25,659.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $972,027.84. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,764 shares of company stock worth $1,476,523. Insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.