Analyzing Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) & Hurco Companies (NASDAQ:HURC)

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) and Hurco Companies (NASDAQ:HURC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Middleby has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hurco Companies has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Middleby and Hurco Companies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Middleby	$3.20 billion	1.53	-$277.73 million	($9.26)	-11.73
Hurco Companies	$178.55 million	0.81	-$15.12 million	($1.03)	-21.74

Hurco Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Middleby. Hurco Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Middleby, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Middleby and Hurco Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Middleby	-13.22%	17.44%	7.66%
Hurco Companies	-3.58%	-3.36%	-2.51%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of Middleby shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.4% of Hurco Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of Middleby shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Hurco Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Middleby and Hurco Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Middleby	2	2	5	0	2.33
Hurco Companies	1	0	0	0	1.00

Middleby currently has a consensus price target of $160.43, indicating a potential upside of 47.68%. Given Middleby’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Middleby is more favorable than Hurco Companies.

Summary

Middleby beats Hurco Companies on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company's Food Processing Equipment Group segment provides batch, baking, proofing, conveyor belt, and continuous processing ovens; frying and automated thermal processing systems; tumblers, massagers, grinders, slicers, reduction and emulsion systems, mixers, and blenders; battering, breading, and seeding equipment; water cutting systems, food presses, food suspension equipment, filling and depositing solutions, and forming equipment; and automated washing systems, auto-guided vehicles, food safety, food handling, freezing, and defrosting and packaging equipment. Its Residential Kitchen Equipment Group segment offers kitchen equipment comprising cookers, stoves, cooktops, microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, undercounter refrigeration, wine cellars, ice machines, beer dispensers, mixers, rotisseries, and ventilation and outdoor cooking equipment. The company was formerly known as Middleby Marshall Oven Company and changed its name to The Middleby Corporation in 1985. The company was founded in 1888 and is based in Elgin, Illinois.

About Hurco Companies

Hurco Companies, Inc., an industrial technology company, designs, manufactures, and sells computerized machine tools to companies in the metal cutting industry worldwide. Its principal products include general-purpose computerized machine tools, including vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, and toolroom machines. The company also provides computer control systems and related software for press brake applications. In addition, it offers machine tool components, automation integration equipment, and solutions for job shops; and software options, control upgrades, and accessories and replacement parts for its products, as well as customer service, training, and applications support services. Further, the company provides Autobend computer control systems for press brake machines. It serves independent job shops and specialized short-run production applications within large manufacturing operations, as well as precision tool, die, and mold manufacturers in aerospace, defense, medical equipment, energy, automotive/transportation, electronics, and computer industries. The company sells its products under the Hurco, Milltronics, and Takumi brands through independent agents and distributors, as well as through its direct sales and service organizations. Hurco Companies, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.