JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $145.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential downside of 9.32% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued 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 shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.86.

Remove Ads

Middleby Stock Up 1.3 %

MIDD stock traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 629,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 852,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Middleby has a twelve month low of $118.41 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $153.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,767 shares during the period. Garden Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,958,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,869,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 237.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,614,000 after acquiring an additional 257,669 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,930,000. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

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.