Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Given New $120.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $118.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $159.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, July 25th. William Blair raised shares of Middleby to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $156.63.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.01. 814,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 468,669. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Middleby has a fifty-two week low of $109.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.10.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Middleby had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Middleby will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the 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 $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at $989,204.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,385 shares of company stock valued at $304,134 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Middleby by 1,246.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Middleby by 97.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Middleby by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Middleby by 620.0% during the first quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Middleby

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.