Aurora Investment Counsel Has $1.44 Million Holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,171 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Middleby were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 481.0% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 68,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,066,000 after acquiring an additional 56,627 shares during the period. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Middleby during the fourth quarter worth about $3,435,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Middleby by 533.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 483,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,115,000 after buying an additional 406,958 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Middleby by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 73,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,886,000 after buying an additional 6,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 278.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 6,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MIDD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Middleby from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Middleby in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Middleby from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Middleby from $155.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

Middleby Stock Performance

Middleby stock opened at $139.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.26 and a 200-day moving average of $136.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The Middleby Co. has a 1 year low of $109.59 and a 1 year high of $161.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 1.58.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $991.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Middleby Co. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Middleby Profile

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.