Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Reduces Stake in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Key Points

• Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its holdings in The Middleby Corporation by 39.9% in Q1, owning 8,437 shares valued at approximately $1.28 million after selling 5,590 shares.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Middleby during the same period, with Versant Capital Management increasing its position by 760% to 258 shares valued at $39,000.
• Analyst opinions on Middleby's stock vary, with recent upgrades setting price targets between $125 and $175, resulting in a consensus target price of $161.13 and an average rating of "Hold."

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec cut its position in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Free Report) by 39.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,590 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Middleby were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Middleby by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Middleby by 760.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Middleby by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 638 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Middleby by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 901 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter valued at $158,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Performance

MIDD stock traded down $4.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.59. The company had a trading volume of 522,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,699. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.54. The Middleby Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.09 and a twelve month high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.07.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $977.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.59 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Middleby from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $163.00 price target on shares of Middleby and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Middleby currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.13.

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.