Earnest Partners LLC Buys 9,524 Shares of The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,329,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,524 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 2.64% of Middleby worth $176,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MIDD. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 929,688 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middleby in the 3rd quarter worth $55,260,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 303,293 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Middleby in the second quarter valued at about $19,285,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 27.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 621,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,538,000 after purchasing an additional 132,191 shares in the last quarter. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MIDD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Middleby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 target price on shares of Middleby and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Middleby from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.17.

Middleby Stock Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $143.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of -24.97 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.57. The Middleby Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.82 and a 52-week high of $169.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.93.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.13). Middleby had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $334.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Middleby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.200-9.360 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.020 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

Middleby Profile

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid‐cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.