Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $273,000 Position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,114 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Middleby by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Middleby by 5.2% during the 3rd 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 period. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its position in Middleby by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Middleby by 97.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of MIDD opened at $136.00 on Monday. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $161.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.95 and its 200 day moving average is $133.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its 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). Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $942.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MIDD. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Middleby from $164.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

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.