Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $157.00 to $227.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 33.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Middleby from $155.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.67.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $170.08 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.34. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Middleby has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $177.90.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Middleby by 1.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Middleby by 5.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Middleby by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Middleby by 133.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently 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.