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

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $154.57.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. William Blair upgraded shares of Middleby to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $126.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Middleby has a 12 month low of $109.59 and a 12 month high of $161.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.48.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $926.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of Middleby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,204.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,385 shares of company stock valued at $304,134 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Middleby by 4.3% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Middleby by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Middleby by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 5,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

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.