Toro (TTC) has evolved beyond residential lawncare into a diversified "industrial machinery" company with a more balanced portfolio, setting the stage for accelerating revenue and margin expansion, Oppenheimer said in a report Wednesday.
The bullish call argues that investors underappreciate Toro's post-COVID transformation. As retail "destocking" normalizes across its traditional golf, landscape, and residential segments, rapid secular growth in underground and specialty construction is driving growth algorithm, the report said.
Underground/specialty construction has expanded to more than 25% of total sales, up from 4% in fiscal 2015, surpassing residential lawncare, the firm noted. Powered by investments in data centers, telecom, and utility infrastructure, the segment delivers growth at above-average margins, according to the report.
Additionally, residential margin recovery toward 10% and productivity gains are expected to widen overall company margins by 100 basis points, supporting low double-digit earnings-per-share growth, the firm said. Rising labor costs are also accelerating demand for Toro's autonomous portfolio, according to the report.
Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Toro with an outperform rating and a price target of $120 per share.
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