Toro (NYSE:TTC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $74.96 and last traded at $74.99, with a volume of 39443 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Toro from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Toro from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Toro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.75.

Toro Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 0.72.

Toro (NYSE:TTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Toro had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 27.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Toro Company will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Toro Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Toro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Toro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.91%.

Toro declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Toro by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Toro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Toro by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Toro by 195.7% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Toro by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.