Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $163.85 and last traded at $162.82, with a volume of 853932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MIDD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Middleby Trading Up 13.0 %

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 stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.88.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm 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%. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Middleby by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 63,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,905 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $469,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.