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

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.86.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Middleby from $157.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on 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 objective on shares of Middleby from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $161.58 on Thursday. Middleby has a 12 month low of $118.41 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.76.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $996.69 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Middleby news, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $81,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,209.61. This trade represents a 7.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Middleby by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby in the 4th quarter valued at about $469,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Middleby in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Middleby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

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.