Aurora Investment Counsel Purchases 733 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1,246.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 306.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 97.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD stock opened at $135.73 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.36. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 1.58. 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 quarterly 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 company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.67.

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.