Brokerages Set The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Price Target at $180.86

Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $180.86.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MIDD shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Middleby from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Middleby from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $152.76 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Middleby has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $182.73.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.38. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Middleby

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,209.61. The trade was a 7.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Middleby by 4,494.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,266,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,524,000 after buying an additional 1,238,767 shares in the last quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,958,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Middleby in the 4th quarter worth about $91,869,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Middleby by 237.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 366,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,614,000 after purchasing an additional 257,669 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,930,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently 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.