Toll Brothers Inc (TOL): Today's Featured Materials & Construction Laggard

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Toll Brothers ( TOL) pushed the Materials & Construction industry lower today making it today's featured Materials & Construction laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.5%. By the end of trading, Toll Brothers fell 44 cents (-1.3%) to $34.13 on average volume. Throughout the day, 3.8 million shares of Toll Brothers exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 3.2 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $33.99-$34.66 after having opened the day at $34.35 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $34.57. Other companies within the Materials & Construction industry that declined today were: Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation ( GLDD), down 18%, Vertex Energy ( VTNR), down 13.8%, Gafisa ( GFA), down 8.2%, and Skyline Corporation ( SKY), down 5.3%.
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Toll Brothers, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, markets, and arranges finance for detached and attached homes in luxury residential communities. It is also involved in building or converting existing rental apartment buildings into high-, mid-, and low-rise luxury homes. Toll Brothers has a market cap of $5.77 billion and is part of the industrial goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 11.7, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 6.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are six analysts that rate Toll Brothers a buy, three analysts rate it a sell, and six rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Toll Brothers as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, solid stock price performance and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

On the positive front, MagneGas Corporation ( MNGA), up 6.6%, Caesarstone Sdot-Yam ( CSTE), up 5.3%, Guanwei Recycling ( GPRC), up 5%, and Meritage Homes Corporation ( MTH), up 2.9%, were all gainers within the materials & construction industry with Cemex S.A.B. de C.V ( CX) being today's featured materials & construction industry leader.

For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the materials & construction industry could consider SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF ( XHB) while those bearish on the materials & construction industry could consider ProShares Short Basic Materials Fd ( SBM).

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