Roubaix Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 30,827 The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Roubaix Capital LLC acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,685,000. Middleby makes up approximately 2.4% of Roubaix Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Middleby by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $132.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The Middleby Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.09 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.28.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 11.06%. The firm had revenue of $977.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden acquired 137,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $148.03 per share, for a total transaction of $20,280,110.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,069,737.02. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Middleby to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.00.

Middleby 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.