Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Stock Price Up 6.2% After Insider Buying Activity

The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) rose 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $137.49 and last traded at $136.9670. Approximately 137,973 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 850,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.00.

Specifically, Director Robert A. Nerbonne acquired 780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $128.52 per share, with a total value of $100,245.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 21,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,759,452.92. This trade represents a 3.77% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MIDD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Middleby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Middleby from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $163.00 price objective on Middleby and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Middleby presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.14.

Middleby Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.92 and a beta of 1.39.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.34. Middleby had a negative net margin of 5.22% and a positive return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $982.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Middleby has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.990-9.140 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.190-2.340 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,029,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,931 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Middleby by 1,046.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,018,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,394,000 after purchasing an additional 929,688 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,260,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Middleby by 260.0% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 419,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,822,000 after buying an additional 303,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middleby in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,733,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.