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

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.86.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $156.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.45 and a 200-day moving average of $145.62. Middleby has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a beta of 1.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $996.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Middleby

In related news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,111 shares in the company, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MIDD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 4,494.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,524,000 after buying an additional 1,238,767 shares during the last quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at $101,958,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter worth $91,869,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 237.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,614,000 after purchasing an additional 257,669 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,930,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently 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.