Brokerages Set The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) PT at $168.14

Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.14.

MIDD has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $148.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.57. Middleby has a twelve month low of $118.83 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.32.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 137,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $148.03 per share, with a total value of $20,280,110.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,276,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,069,737.02. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Middleby by 6.7% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,839,000. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Middleby by 344.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $365,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.