The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.67.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Middleby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.75. 462,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,533. 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 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $138.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.44. The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.60.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Middleby will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 11,853.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 967,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $118,609,000 after buying an additional 959,272 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 15.4% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,360,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,835,000 after acquiring an additional 846,884 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 43.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 903,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $110,768,000 after purchasing an additional 274,513 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 58.0% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 510,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $62,547,000 after purchasing an additional 187,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Middleby by 30.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 713,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $87,497,000 after purchasing an additional 167,298 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.