The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $159.38.

MIDD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Middleby from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th.

Middleby Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $141.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.31. Middleby has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.21. Middleby had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Middleby will post 10.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total value of $153,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.47, for a total transaction of $53,014.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $955,169.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cathy L. Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.12, for a total transaction of $153,120.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,519.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the third quarter valued at about $575,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 44.0% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 9.4% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 12.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 1.2% during the third quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 49,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Company Profile

The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing.