Quest Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 142,460.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,123 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Middleby were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S&CO Inc. lifted its stake in Middleby by 0.3% in the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 66,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,297,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter worth $10,928,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter worth $104,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Middleby in the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Middleby by 2.2% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 8,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MIDD has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $135.73 on Thursday. The Middleby Co. has a one year low of $118.41 and a one year high of $161.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.32 and a 200 day moving average of $133.36. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Middleby Co. will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Middleby 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.