Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $140.38, but opened at $129.93. Middleby shares last traded at $130.61, with a volume of 379,063 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, September 13th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Middleby in a report on Saturday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.17.

Middleby Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.39 and a 200 day moving average of $133.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Middleby had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 9.90%. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Middleby Co. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Middleby

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Middleby by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Middleby during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.