Ancora Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation, purchasing 17,810 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• The Middleby Corporation reported $2.35 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, despite a 1.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 98.55% of The Middleby Corporation's stock, indicating strong institutional support for the company.

Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,707,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Middleby by 59.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,029,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $460,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,931 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Middleby by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,866,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $252,798,000 after purchasing an additional 53,276 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Middleby by 0.6% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,319,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $200,577,000 after purchasing an additional 7,791 shares in the last quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,958,000. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Middleby by 1.5% during the first quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,647,000 after purchasing an additional 10,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MIDD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.13.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD traded down $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.01. 68,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,654. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.54. The Middleby Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.09 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $140.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $977.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.59 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middleby 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.