Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

TOL has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Toll Brothers in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Toll Brothers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.80.

Toll Brothers Price Performance

TOL opened at $117.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.38 and a 200-day moving average of $98.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.66. Toll Brothers has a 12-month low of $59.46 and a 12-month high of $130.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 4.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The construction company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.48. Toll Brothers had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Toll Brothers will post 13.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carl B. Marbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.02, for a total value of $1,180,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,823.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Carl B. Marbach sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.02, for a total value of $1,180,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,069 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,823.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Douglas C. Jr. Yearley sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.85, for a total transaction of $5,942,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 346,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,167,500.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,881,930. 1.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toll Brothers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Toll Brothers during the first quarter worth about $224,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Toll Brothers by 7.1% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,919 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Toll Brothers during the first quarter worth about $673,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Toll Brothers by 1.0% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 137,941 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Toll Brothers during the first quarter worth about $4,820,000. Institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

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.