Toast (NYSE:TOST) Raised to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

Toast (NYSE:TOST) was upgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on TOST. Wolfe Research cut shares of Toast from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $37.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stephens set a $42.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $40.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.48.

Toast Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:TOST opened at $29.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.48 and a 200 day moving average of $32.32. The stock has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.42 and a beta of 1.90. Toast has a 12 month low of $24.35 and a 12 month high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Toast had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 18.14%. Toast’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Toast will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Toast

In related news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $233,850.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,546.16. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $95,960.16. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 243,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,380,983.98. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,030 shares of company stock worth $1,231,451. Corporate insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Toast by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 524,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,912,000 after buying an additional 35,013 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Toast by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 178,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after buying an additional 6,552 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Toast by 112.3% in the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 30,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 16,355 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Toast in the 1st quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its holdings in Toast by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 89,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc (NYSE: TOST) is a technology company that builds a cloud-based platform for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Toast offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems and a suite of software and hardware designed to streamline front-of-house and back-of-house operations. The company went public in 2021 and has positioned itself as a vertically integrated provider for the restaurant industry.

Toast’s product portfolio includes touchscreen POS terminals and handheld order-and-pay devices, kitchen display systems, and peripherals tailored for high-volume foodservice environments.