Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $163.00 to $170.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Toll Brothers traded as high as $155.01 and last traded at $154.92, with a volume of 337791 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.62.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on TOL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Toll Brothers from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Toll Brothers from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 22,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $3,248,587.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,721 shares in the company, valued at $2,109,224.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Douglas C. Jr. Yearley sold 87,584 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.49, for a total value of $12,917,764.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 346,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,087,881.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $3,248,587.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,109,224.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,257 shares of company stock worth $28,646,402. 1.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Toll Brothers by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,926 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Toll Brothers by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 91.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Toll Brothers Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $139.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.43.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The construction company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.29. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Toll Brothers, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Toll Brothers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.28%.

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.