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

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

TOST has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Toast from $47.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 target price on Toast in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Toast in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Toast from $43.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price target on Toast in a report on Monday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.48.

Toast Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:TOST opened at $29.38 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.48 and a two-hundred 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 52-week low of $24.35 and a 52-week high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Toast will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $95,960.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,380,983.98. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $233,850.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,546.16. This represents a 4.91% 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. Insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayban acquired a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Toast during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Toast during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

About Toast

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.