Middleby Corp (MIDD) PT Raised to $185 at KeyBanc Following Garden's Activist Stake

KeyBanc analyst Jeffrey Hammond raised the price target on Middleby Corp (NASDAQ: MIDD) to $185.00 (from $160.00) while maintaining an Overweight rating.

The analyst commented: "Sowing the Seeds of Change; Garden's Activist Stake; The WSJ has reported that Ed Garden, Chairman and CEO of Garden Investments and former CIO of Trian Fund Management, has built a nearly 5% activist position in MIDD. We have viewed MIDD as a potential activist candidate for over a year, and feel Garden is a credible investor that current shareholders are likely to support as a change agent. In general, we think Garden's preliminary plan of focusing on CFS, reviewing Residential, and a refined capital allocation strategy is sound. All in, we view this as the needed catalyst for shares/valuation in a name that has underperformed. As such, we reiterate our OW rating and are raising our price target to $185 (from $160)."

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