JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Price Target to $150.00

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $145.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 8.12% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $163.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Middleby has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 1.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during 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.