The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.14.

Several equities analysts recently commented on MIDD shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Middleby Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $147.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. Middleby has a 1 year low of $118.41 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.83.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $906.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $941.46 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Middleby

In other news, Director Edward P. Garden purchased 203,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $139.13 per share, with a total value of $28,251,459.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,838,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,979,496.12. The trade was a 7.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Middleby by 90.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Middleby during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Middleby by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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