The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) Holdings Boosted by Olstein Capital Management L.P.

Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Middleby makes up 1.7% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $9,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Middleby by 4,494.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Middleby by 17.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,138,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,469,000 after acquiring an additional 171,634 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Middleby by 275.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 185,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,862,000 after purchasing an additional 136,345 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Middleby in the third quarter valued at about $10,928,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Middleby by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 123,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,142,000 after purchasing an additional 34,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Middleby Stock Up 16.5 %

Shares of Middleby stock opened at $169.72 on Friday. The Middleby Co. has a 12-month low of $118.41 and a 12-month high of $169.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.35.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 10.14%. Middleby’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.