The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Receives $180.86 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.86.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MIDD. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD opened at $152.76 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.72. Middleby has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.29 and a 200 day moving average of $146.16.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Middleby by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,617,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.