Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MIDD. KeyCorp upped their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD opened at $156.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $160.76 and its 200-day moving average is $145.70. Middleby has a 52-week low of $118.41 and a 52-week high of $182.73. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during 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.