Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) saw strong trading volume on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 238,837 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 450,315 shares.The stock last traded at $149.38 and had previously closed at $135.58.

The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.05 million. Middleby had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Middleby’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $159.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total transaction of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,204.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $822,165,000 after purchasing an additional 15,798 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 1.0% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,998,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,342,000 after purchasing an additional 20,511 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Middleby by 0.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,450,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,182,000 after purchasing an additional 11,552 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Middleby by 1.6% in the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 925,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,526,000 after purchasing an additional 14,413 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 30.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 713,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,497,000 after purchasing an additional 167,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 1.61.

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.