Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in The Middleby Corporation, purchasing 129,300 shares valued at approximately $19.65 million, equating to 0.24% ownership of the company.
• Director Edward P. Garden significantly increased his position by buying 137,000 shares for around $20.28 million, enhancing his total holdings to over 3.27 million shares.
• Middleby reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.35 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.15, yet experienced a 1.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 129,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $19,651,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Middleby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garden Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,958,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Middleby by 237.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,614,000 after buying an additional 257,669 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Middleby during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,733,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,247,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $169,000,000 after buying an additional 150,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Hill Capital Management LP raised its position in Middleby by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 331,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,852,000 after buying an additional 146,945 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ MIDD traded down $1.99 on Wednesday, hitting $130.62. The company had a trading volume of 319,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,666. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $142.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The Middleby Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.09 and a 12-month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The company had revenue of $977.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MIDD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Middleby from $186.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Middleby to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.00.

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.