The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $169.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Middleby from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered Middleby from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD stock opened at $135.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $151.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.26. Middleby has a 12-month low of $110.82 and a 12-month high of $180.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $839.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.19 million. Middleby had a negative net margin of 11.46% and a positive return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,772,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $858,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902,957 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 1,046.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,018,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,394,000 after purchasing an additional 929,688 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 4,256.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,361,000 after purchasing an additional 705,560 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,113,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 260.0% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 419,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,822,000 after purchasing an additional 303,293 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Middleby

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid‐cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.