Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Analysts at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $163.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Middleby from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Middleby to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Middleby from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Middleby from $145.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.13.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of MIDD opened at $144.43 on Thursday. Middleby has a 1 year low of $118.09 and a 1 year high of $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.34 and a 200-day moving average of $144.12.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $979.59 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 11.06%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Middleby by 5.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Middleby by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is currently 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.