KBC Group NV Lowers Position in The Middleby Corporation $MIDD

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 99.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200,721 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Middleby were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Middleby during the 2nd quarter worth $660,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Middleby by 6.4% during the second quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 71,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,284 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Middleby by 168.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Middleby in the 2nd quarter worth about $404,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Middleby in the 2nd quarter worth about $478,000. 98.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MIDD shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Middleby from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wolfe Research set a $163.00 target price on Middleby and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays set a $168.00 price target on shares of Middleby and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.57.

Middleby Price Performance

NASDAQ MIDD opened at $113.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.57. The Middleby Corporation has a 52 week low of $112.61 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.18.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $982.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.21 million. Middleby had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. Middleby has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.990-9.140 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.190-2.340 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Middleby Corporation will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.