Raymond James Begins Coverage on Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Raymond James started coverage on shares of Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Middleby from $166.00 to $159.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. William Blair upgraded Middleby to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Middleby from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $145.00 to $118.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $153.43.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $122.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.60. Middleby has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.16). Middleby had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $926.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total transaction of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.18, for a total value of $32,237.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,204.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Miller III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.32, for a total value of $252,640.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,380,803.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,385 shares of company stock worth $304,134. 1.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Middleby by 14,616.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 15,786 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 14,991 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Middleby by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,696,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,621,000 after purchasing an additional 198,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Middleby by 481.0% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 68,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,066,000 after purchasing an additional 56,627 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.