Millrace Asset Group Inc. Invests $1.37 Million in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Millrace Asset Group Inc. acquired a new stake in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,368,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 15.4% in 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 in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 1.0% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,998,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,342,000 after buying an additional 20,511 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 17.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,469,000 after buying an additional 171,634 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 925,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,413 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Middleby by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,768,000 after acquiring an additional 274,513 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.39. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.58. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $942.81 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.