Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $104.51, but opened at $106.89. Toll Brothers shares last traded at $105.73, with a volume of 660,958 shares.

The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Toll Brothers had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Toll Brothers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on TOL. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Toll Brothers from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Toll Brothers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $156.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Toll Brothers has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.29.

Insider Transactions at Toll Brothers

In other news, Director Christine Garvey sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.58, for a total value of $46,443.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,458,107.88. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toll Brothers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TOL. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Toll Brothers by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,226,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $154,449,000 after acquiring an additional 341,980 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Toll Brothers by 721.8% during the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 16,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 14,551 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,290 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new stake in Toll Brothers during the fourth quarter worth $2,330,000. 91.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toll Brothers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 4.65 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $101.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.28.

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.