Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MIDD. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 price target on shares of Middleby and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Middleby from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Middleby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $159.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.17.

Middleby Stock Down 3.5%

MIDD stock opened at $150.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Middleby has a 1-year low of $110.82 and a 1-year high of $169.44. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.31 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middleby news, Director Robert A. Nerbonne acquired 780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $128.52 per share, with a total value of $100,245.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,759,452.92. This trade represents a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MIDD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Middleby by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,772,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $858,161,000 after buying an additional 1,902,957 shares during the period. Garden Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Middleby by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Garden Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,379,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $502,466,000 after acquiring an additional 102,903 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,153,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,112,000 after acquiring an additional 75,047 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,486,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,950,000 after acquiring an additional 58,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4.2% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,461,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,318,000 after acquiring an additional 59,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Middleby Company 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.