Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Purchases 12,905 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 63,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,905 shares during the quarter. Middleby comprises 1.8% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $8,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Middleby by 306.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 93.2% during the third 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 period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Middleby by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Middleby by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Middleby stock opened at $169.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.45. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $169.92.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby 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.