Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MIDD. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Middleby from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Middleby from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on Middleby in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $168.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.71.

Middleby Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $158.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.69 and a beta of 1.36. Middleby has a 1-year low of $110.82 and a 1-year high of $169.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.06.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $839.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.19 million. Middleby had a positive return on equity of 15.94% and a negative net margin of 11.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Middleby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.540-9.700 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.270-2.390 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Middleby will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Middleby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in shares of Middleby by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 4,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Middleby by 201.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.