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

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Quarry LP increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 306.5% in 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 97.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. The Middleby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.41 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.94 and a 200 day moving average of $133.39.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.67.

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.