Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Earns Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a Buy rating on Middleby with a $195 price objective, implying roughly a 50.7% upside from the current share price.
• Middleby reported quarterly EPS of $2.42, beating the $2.27 estimate, and issued FY2026 guidance of 9.200–9.360 EPS while revenue rose 4.5% year‑over‑year.
• The stock traded at $129.38 (up 1.7%) with a $6.10 billion market cap and heavy institutional ownership — notably T. Rowe Price increased its stake to 722,137 shares.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $195.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 50.72% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MIDD. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Middleby from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 price target on Middleby and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Middleby from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $159.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Middleby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.14.

Middleby Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Middleby stock traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $129.38. 66,786 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 607,564. Middleby has a twelve month low of $110.82 and a twelve month high of $169.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of -22.61 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.76.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $334.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Middleby had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 14.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Middleby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.200-9.360 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.020 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth $2,464,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middleby by 107.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 8,373 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Middleby by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Middleby by 4,256.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $107,361,000 after purchasing an additional 705,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Company Profile

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby's products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company's portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid‐cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.

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