Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New $500,000 Investment in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Middleby during the 2nd quarter worth $256,000. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Middleby by 4.5% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Middleby during the second quarter valued at $610,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Middleby by 0.6% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 47,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,786,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby in the second quarter worth about $45,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Middleby Stock Up 3.7 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $132.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.47. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $991.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.05 million. Middleby had a net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MIDD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp cut their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Middleby in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

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.