The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $108.80.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TTC. StockNews.com began coverage on Toro in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet cut Toro from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Toro from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 11th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Toro from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Toro from $110.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 8th.

Toro Price Performance

TTC stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.11. Toro has a 12-month low of $78.35 and a 12-month high of $117.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 0.77.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 7th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.28). Toro had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 33.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Toro’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Toro will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Toro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 4th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 3rd. Toro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kevin N. Carpenter sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $131,907.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,846.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Toro by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Toro by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Toro in the third quarter valued at $25,000. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of Toro in the third quarter valued at $3,264,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Toro by 10.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 982,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,677,000 after purchasing an additional 96,444 shares in the last quarter. 84.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Toro

The Toro Company provides innovative solutions for the outdoor environment worldwide. It operates through two segments Professional and Residential. The company's Professional segment offers turf and landscape equipment products, including sports fields and grounds mowing and maintenance equipment, golf course mowing and maintenance equipment, landscape contractor mowing equipment, landscape creation and renovation equipment, and other maintenance equipment; rental, specialty, and underground construction equipment, such as horizontal directional drills, walk and ride trenchers, stand-on skid steers, vacuum excavators, stump grinders, turf renovation products, asset locators, pipe rehabilitation solutions, materials handling equipment, and other after-market tools; and snow and ice management equipment, including snowplows; as well as stand-on snow and ice removal equipment, such as the related snowplow, snow brush, and snow thrower attachments, salt and sand spreaders, and related parts and accessories for light and medium duty trucks, utility task vehicles, skid steers, and front-end loaders.