Toro shares ride early summer to all-time high

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.

Toro's profit jumped 14 percent during the second-quarter as unseasonably warm weather got people thinking about the smell of fresh-cut grass.

The company easily topped Wall Street expectations and it boosted its profit and sales outlook for the full year, sending shares up 8 percent to an all-time high.

The company declared a two-for-one stock split as well. The 100 percent stock dividend will be distributed June 29 to shareholders of as of June 15

For the quarter ended May 4, Toro earned $68.8 million, or $2.26 per share, up from $60.3 million, or $1.88 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue rose 9.5 percent to $691.5 million from $631.6 million.

Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $2.12 per share on $676.4 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

With record temperatures in across the country, lawns needed tending much sooner than usual. The same thing occurred at golf courses, where caretakers ordered workers out on the fairways early to accommodate a wave of duffers. It's become a lucrative season for many courses and clubs, allowing caretakers a bigger budget for machinery.

The company boosted its full-year profit prediction to $4.30 per share on sales growth of between 7 percent and 8 percent. In February, the company projected a profit of $4.20 per share on revenue growth of 6percent to 7 percent.

Based on the company's fiscal 2011 sales of $1.88 billion, the new guidance implies 2012 sales of between $2.01 billion and $2.03 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect a fiscal 2012 profit of $4.27 per share on $2.02 billion in revenue.

Company shares spiked $5.64 to $73.75 in midday trading.

Since the beginning of this year, shares of Toro Co., based in Bloomington, Minn., have gained about 12 percent.