The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $153.43.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Middleby in a research report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Middleby to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total transaction of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at $989,204.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134. 1.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Middleby by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,910,000 after buying an additional 13,493 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,740,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 27,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $969,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Middleby by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $122.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.70. Middleby has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.60.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $926.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Middleby Company Profile

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.