Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new position in The Middleby Corporation, purchasing 2,892 shares valued at approximately $440,000.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Middleby, with firms like Canaccord Genuity and Barclays reducing targets to $186.00 and $165.00 respectively, while one analyst has given it a sell rating.
• Middleby’s stock has decreased by 18.3%, currently trading around $118.30, and the company recently reported earnings of $2.35 per share, slightly above expectations.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Middleby by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 15,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 9,713 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,853 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MIDD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.00.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of MIDD traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.71. 1,252,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,553. The business's 50 day moving average price is $144.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.57. The Middleby Corporation has a 1-year low of $118.09 and a 1-year high of $182.73.

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

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 249,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.59 per share, for a total transaction of $37,298,621.01. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,088,263 shares in the company, valued at $461,973,262.17. The trade was a 8.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 437,910 shares of company stock valued at $65,243,811. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

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.