The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) Short Interest Update

The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) (TSE:TD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 49,950,000 shares, an increase of 55.6% from the September 30th total of 32,110,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 19.1 days.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.34. 1,300,654 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,806,156. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a 12-month low of $53.52 and a 12-month high of $65.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.81.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) (TSE:TD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.56. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 6.94%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Toronto-Dominion Bank’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.739 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Toronto-Dominion Bank’s payout ratio is 68.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TD shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Toronto-Dominion Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toronto-Dominion Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 5.3% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL lifted its position in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 23,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 3.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 134,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,092,000 after acquiring an additional 4,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,388,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,881,000 after purchasing an additional 37,002 shares in the last quarter. 52.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Toronto-Dominion Bank

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking.