SG Americas Securities LLC, a renowned financial institution that provides various investment banking services, recently filed a 13F report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the said report, the firm’s holdings in The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) surged by 243.4% during the fourth quarter of 2020. Over this period, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired 2,483 additional shares of MIDD and currently holds 3,503 shares worth $469k.
The Middleby Corp is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and distributing foodservice equipment. The company operates in four main segments: Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group, Food Processing Equipment Group, Residential Kitchen Equipment Group and Corporate & Other. The Commercial Foodservice Equipment group manufactures and distributes food service equipment across restaurant and institutional kitchens.
Currently trading on NASDAQ exchange under stock symbol MIDD; the holding has garnered significant attention from different research firms with analysts forecasting positive prospects for shareholders. Notably; Canaccord Genuity Group hiked its price objective for MIDD from $162 per share to $176 per share issuing a buy rating on February 16th. Similarly; Benchmark raised their price target to $175 per share labeling it as buy rating on February 22nd.
The praise continued to pour in from different market voices; Robert W Baird marked it as outperform with a targeted price raise of $140 a share to $174 per share on January 24th while Barclay’s was equally bullish about Middleby raising its target price from $175 a share to $177 per share on January 13th.
Despite mixed coverage with two research analysts’ hold rating of the stock having six giving it a buy rating putting MIDD average rating at “Moderate Buy,” strong fundamentals suggest that this could be an apt time for investors looking for long-term growth opportunities in Industrial Products space willing to hedge potentially attractive returns in the turbulent economic times we are currently living.
Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Increase Positions in Middleby, Citing Strong Growth Prospects and Innovation
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in Middleby, a company that engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of foodservice equipment. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, while Profund Advisors LLC and Bank of Montreal Can increased their positions by 4.9% and 5.1%, respectively. Kestra Advisory Services LLC also bought a new stake in shares of Middleby during the same period. On the other hand, Director Chapin Sarah Palisi sold 300 shares of Middleby stock on March 6th for a total transaction of $47,217.00.
The company operates through four segments: Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group, Food Processing Equipment Group, Residential Kitchen Equipment Group, and Corporate and Other. The Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment manufactures, sells, and distributes foodservice equipment for the restaurant and institutional kitchen industry.
Shares of MIDD opened at $142.95 on Friday with a market capitalization of $7.67 billion and a PE ratio of 17.96. Despite opening lower compared to previous highs at $162.02 last year, share prices continue to be supported by positive earnings reports as evident when it exceeded analysts’ consensus estimates last February regarding earnings per share for the same period.
Middleby’s success can also be attributed to its commitment to technology innovations such as automated systems that can operate using AI-driven algorithms while keeping energy consumption low as well as incorporating eco-friendly manufacturing practices into production processes.
This shows that Middleby is aware that consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and want appliances that are efficient yet sustainable to use without compromising functionality or quality output results.
As institutional investors remain bullish about Middleby’s future prospects thanks to its continued growth trajectory in both customer base expansion through successful product innovations as well as strong acquisitions such as Ss Brewtech acquisition announced earlier this year, many remain hopeful that this company will be able to continue outperforming the market in the foreseeable future.
