Toro (NYSE:TTC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $85.31, but opened at $80.70. Toro shares last traded at $83.29, with a volume of 251,316 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TTC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Toro in a research note on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Toro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Toro from $102.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Toro from $103.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Toro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.33.

Toro Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.95. Toro had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Toro Company will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This is a boost from Toro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Toro’s payout ratio is presently 37.91%.

Toro announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Toro by 112.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Toro by 850.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 855 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Toro by 22.4% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Toro in the second quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Toro by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.95% of the company’s stock.

Toro Company Profile

The Toro Company designs, manufactures, markets, and sells professional turf maintenance equipment and services. It operates through two segments: Professional and Residential. The 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, such as snowplows, as well as stand-on snow and ice removal equipment, such as 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.