Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Earns Buy Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $195.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 46.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MIDD. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Middleby from $159.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Middleby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research cut Middleby from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 price target on Middleby and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.14.

Middleby Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MIDD opened at $132.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.18 and a beta of 1.41. 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 12-month low of $110.82 and a 12-month high of $169.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.69.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $334.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Middleby had a positive return on equity of 14.57% and a negative net margin of 7.44%.Middleby’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MIDD. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in Middleby by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 4,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 7.6% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 201.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Middleby by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

About Middleby

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.