Toast (NYSE:TOST) & Consensus Cloud Solutions (NASDAQ:CCSI) Critical Analysis

Toast (NYSE:TOST) and Consensus Cloud Solutions (NASDAQ:CCSI) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Toast and Consensus Cloud Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Toast	$6.15 billion	2.18	$342.00 million	$0.54	47.45
Consensus Cloud Solutions	$349.70 million	1.32	$84.53 million	$4.35	5.62

Toast has higher revenue and earnings than Consensus Cloud Solutions. Consensus Cloud Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Toast, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

82.9% of Toast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of Consensus Cloud Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of Toast shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Consensus Cloud Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Toast and Consensus Cloud Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Toast	0	7	17	0	2.71
Consensus Cloud Solutions	0	1	2	0	2.67

Toast currently has a consensus target price of $40.46, suggesting a potential upside of 57.89%. Consensus Cloud Solutions has a consensus target price of $37.50, suggesting a potential upside of 53.50%. Given Toast’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Toast is more favorable than Consensus Cloud Solutions.

Profitability

This table compares Toast and Consensus Cloud Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Toast	5.56%	18.14%	12.09%
Consensus Cloud Solutions	24.17%	-579.06%	14.35%

Volatility and Risk

Toast has a beta of 1.95, indicating that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Consensus Cloud Solutions has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Toast beats Consensus Cloud Solutions on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Toast

Toast, Inc. operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast. It provides toast online ordering and toast takeout, first-party delivery toast delivery services, and third-party delivery integrations and orders hub; and loyalty, email marketing, and toast gift cards. In addition, the company offers payroll and team management, Sling by Toast, Toast pay card and payout, and tips manager, as well as partner-enabled products comprising insurance and benefits; supply chain and accounting products, such as xtraCHEF by toast; and financial technology solutions consisting of payment processing, toast capital, and purchase plans. Further, it offers reporting and analytics, Toast shop, and Toast partner connect and application programming interfaces. The company was formerly known as Opti Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Toast, Inc. in May 2012. Toast, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Consensus Cloud Solutions

Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information delivery services with a software-as-a-service platform worldwide. The company offers eFax Corporate, a digital cloud-fax technology; Unite, a single platform that allows the user to choose between various protocols to send and receive healthcare information and can integrate into an existing electronic health record system or stand-alone if no EHR is present. It also offers jsign, an electronic and digital signature solution; Conductor, an interface engine and interoperability platform that provides integration technology; Clarity that transforms unstructured documents into structured actionable data; and eFax, an online faxing solution, as well as other products under the MyFax, MetroFax, Sfax, and SRfax brands. In addition, the company provides ECFax, an Corporate eFax. It serves healthcare, government, financial services, law, and education sectors. Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.