The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.17.

Several analysts have recently commented on MIDD shares. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Middleby in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 1,246.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Middleby during the second quarter worth about $45,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Price Performance

MIDD traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,313. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.24. Middleby has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.05 million. Middleby had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

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.