Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

MIDD has been the topic of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.86.

Middleby Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $154.76 on Wednesday. Middleby has a 1-year low of $118.41 and a 1-year high of $182.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $161.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.52.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MIDD. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,106,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

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.