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

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.67.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MIDD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $134.56. 492,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 565,966. Middleby has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $161.01. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $138.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.60.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company'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, sell-side analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Middleby by 1.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Middleby by 5.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Middleby by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 622 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.