Olstein Capital Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 3.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Middleby makes up 1.6% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $9,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $779,835,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $822,165,000 after purchasing an additional 15,798 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,998,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,342,000 after acquiring an additional 20,511 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Middleby by 11,853.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 967,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,609,000 after purchasing an additional 959,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $142.16. 40,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $113.77 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.60.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MIDD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.