Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL)

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 5,854 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 4,309 put options.

Toll Brothers Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of TOL traded down $7.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $114.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,715,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,658. Toll Brothers has a twelve month low of $100.47 and a twelve month high of $169.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 4.92 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Toll Brothers had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.48%. On average, analysts anticipate that Toll Brothers will post 14.15 EPS for the current year.

Toll Brothers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Toll Brothers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Toll Brothers news, Director Paul E. Shapiro sold 3,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total value of $514,695.18. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 11,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total transaction of $1,404,419.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,599,311.26. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,202 shares of company stock valued at $1,947,436. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Toll Brothers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Toll Brothers in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Toll Brothers in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Toll Brothers in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Toll Brothers during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 57.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TOL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price (down previously from $166.00) on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Toll Brothers to an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Toll Brothers from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.43.

Toll Brothers Company Profile

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.