Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Now Covered by Analysts at Raymond James

Equities research analysts at Raymond James began coverage on shares of Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MIDD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Middleby from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Middleby to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.43.

Middleby Stock Down 1.6 %

MIDD opened at $122.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.74. Middleby has a 52 week low of $109.59 and a 52 week high of $161.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $926.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $979.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at $989,204.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total transaction of $32,237.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,211 shares in the company, valued at $989,204.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,385 shares of company stock valued at $304,134. 1.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Middleby by 533.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 483,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,115,000 after buying an additional 406,958 shares during the last quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP bought a new position in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $51,736,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 177.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 546,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,843,000 after buying an additional 349,546 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 421.5% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 356,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,356,000 after buying an additional 288,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 494,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,770,000 after purchasing an additional 217,618 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.