Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $122.05, but opened at $112.49. Toll Brothers shares last traded at $114.83, with a volume of 764,226 shares trading hands.

The construction company reported $1.75 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 19.64%.

Toll Brothers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Toll Brothers from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $168.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Toll Brothers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $155.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Toll Brothers has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.43.

Insider Transactions at Toll Brothers

In other news, Director Christine Garvey sold 204 shares of Toll Brothers stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total value of $25,659.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $972,027.84. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul E. Shapiro sold 3,837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total transaction of $514,695.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 119,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,088,349.18. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,202 shares of company stock valued at $1,947,436. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toll Brothers

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 11.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Toll Brothers in the third quarter worth approximately $265,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 275,863 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,618,000 after buying an additional 48,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in Toll Brothers during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. 91.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toll Brothers Trading Down 6.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.92 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $130.51 and a 200-day moving average of $141.86.

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.