Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Toll Brothers Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a consensus twelve-month price target of $150.43.
• CEO Douglas C. Jr. Yearley recently sold 25,000 shares of the company, reducing his ownership by 8.04%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, with a payout ratio of 7.35%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $150.4286.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on TOL shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Argus increased their price objective on Toll Brothers from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Monday, August 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toll Brothers

In other Toll Brothers news, CEO Douglas C. Jr. Yearley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.26, for a total transaction of $3,456,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,117 shares in the company, valued at $39,558,536.42. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. East sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.33, for a total value of $288,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,724.71. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,413 shares of company stock worth $5,746,216 in the last quarter. 1.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Toll Brothers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Toll Brothers by 84.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 245 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 52.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 272 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Toll Brothers by 152.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Toll Brothers by 128.2% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 324 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Toll Brothers by 218.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.76% of the company's stock.

Toll Brothers Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Toll Brothers stock opened at $140.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.14. Toll Brothers has a 52-week low of $86.67 and a 52-week high of $169.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.38 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 19th. The construction company reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Toll Brothers will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toll Brothers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is presently 7.35%.

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.

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