Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Sees Large Volume Increase

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 765,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the previous session’s volume of 472,814 shares.The stock last traded at $126.25 and had previously closed at $129.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, August 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Middleby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.43.

Middleby Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.05 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Middleby during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 1,246.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Middleby by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Middleby by 97.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.