The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) Receives $168.14 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.14.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MIDD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Middleby from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Middleby from $188.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Middleby from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward P. Garden bought 137,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $148.03 per share, with a total value of $20,280,110.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,276,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,069,737.02. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought 640,968 shares of company stock valued at $93,495,270 in the last three months. 6.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth about $101,958,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,283,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $712,594,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMC Chicago LLC bought a new position in Middleby in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,069,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company's stock.

Middleby Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Middleby stock traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $148.70. The stock had a trading volume of 841,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,651. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.15. Middleby has a 1 year low of $118.83 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $941.46 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

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.