The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.67.

Several brokerages have commented on MIDD. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Middleby by 15.4% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,835,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,469,000 after acquiring an additional 171,634 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 936,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,341,000 after acquiring an additional 8,926 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew 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 last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Middleby by 43.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,768,000 after purchasing an additional 274,513 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD stock opened at $134.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 1.60. Middleby has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $161.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.