diff --git a/plugins/ant/ant.plugin.zsh b/plugins/ant/ant.plugin.zsh
index 691d4d2db..45f2b06eb 100644
--- a/plugins/ant/ant.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/ant/ant.plugin.zsh
@@ -1,17 +1,7 @@
-stat -f%m . > /dev/null 2>&1
-if [ "$?" = 0 ]; then
-	stat_cmd=(stat -f%m)
-else
-	stat_cmd=(stat -L --format=%Y)
-fi
-
 _ant_does_target_list_need_generating () {
-  if [ ! -f .ant_targets ]; then return 0;
-  else
-    accurate=$($stat_cmd .ant_targets)
-    changed=$($stat_cmd build.xml)
-    return $(expr $accurate '>=' $changed)
-  fi
+  [ ! -f .ant_targets ] && return 0;
+  [ .ant_targets -nt build.xml ] && return 0;
+  return 1;
 }
 
 _ant () {
diff --git a/plugins/cake/cake.plugin.zsh b/plugins/cake/cake.plugin.zsh
index 1d0d196ee..44cc47470 100644
--- a/plugins/cake/cake.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/cake/cake.plugin.zsh
@@ -14,12 +14,9 @@ _cake_does_target_list_need_generating () {
 		return 1;
 	fi
 
-	if [ ! -f ${_cake_task_cache_file} ]; then return 0;
-	else
-		accurate=$(stat -f%m $_cake_task_cache_file)
-		changed=$(stat -f%m Cakefile)
-		return $(expr $accurate '>=' $changed)
-	fi
+	[ ! -f ${_cake_task_cache_file} ] && return 0;
+	[ ${_cake_task_cache_file} -nt Cakefile ] && return 0;
+	return 1;
 }
 
 _cake () {
@@ -33,4 +30,4 @@ _cake () {
 	fi
 }
 
-compdef _cake cake
\ No newline at end of file
+compdef _cake cake
diff --git a/plugins/gradle/gradle.plugin.zsh b/plugins/gradle/gradle.plugin.zsh
index fc4c78c50..9229512f7 100644
--- a/plugins/gradle/gradle.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/gradle/gradle.plugin.zsh
@@ -54,27 +54,14 @@ function in_gradle() {
     fi
 }
 
-############################################################################
-# Define the stat_cmd command based on platform behavior
-##########################################################################
-stat -f%m . > /dev/null 2>&1
-if [ "$?" = 0 ]; then
-	stat_cmd=(stat -f%m)
-else
-	stat_cmd=(stat -L --format=%Y)
-fi
-
 ############################################################################## Examine the build.gradle file to see if its
 # timestamp has changed, and if so, regen
 # the .gradle_tasks cache file
 ############################################################################
 _gradle_does_task_list_need_generating () {
-  if [ ! -f .gradletasknamecache ]; then return 0;
-  else
-    accurate=$($stat_cmd .gradletasknamecache)
-    changed=$($stat_cmd build.gradle)
-    return $(expr $accurate '>=' $changed)
-  fi
+  [ ! -f .gradletasknamecache ] && return 0;
+  [ .gradletasknamecache -nt build.gradle ] && return 0;
+  return 1;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/plugins/phing/phing.plugin.zsh b/plugins/phing/phing.plugin.zsh
index 8f4adca08..795f1db85 100644
--- a/plugins/phing/phing.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/phing/phing.plugin.zsh
@@ -1,16 +1,13 @@
 _phing_does_target_list_need_generating () {
-  if [ ! -f .phing_targets ]; then return 0;
-  else
-    accurate=$(stat -f%m .phing_targets)
-    changed=$(stat -f%m build.xml)
-    return $(expr $accurate '>=' $changed)
-  fi
+  [ ! -f .phing_targets ] && return 0;
+  [ .phing_targets -nt build.xml ] && return 0;
+  return 1;
 }
 
 _phing () {
   if [ -f build.xml ]; then
     if _phing_does_target_list_need_generating; then
-      phing -l |grep -v ":" |grep -v "^$"|grep -v "\-" > .phing_targets
+      phing -l |grep -v ":$" |grep -v "^-*$" > .phing_targets
     fi
     compadd `cat .phing_targets`
   fi