Toro (NYSE:TTC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Toro Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.02.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 company earned $0.71 EPS. Toro’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Toro Company will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Toro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Toro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Toro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.91%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Toro by 112.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Toro by 850.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 855 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Toro by 22.4% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 908 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Toro by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Toro in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,000. 87.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Toro

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.