The Middleby Corp (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Already has outperformed the S&P and will continue to do so, post-split. Volatile, but a performer.

Took a brief beating, but is in the perfect range to make a comeback.

They seem to have a leg up on their competition as the premium brand for their product already.

Middleby Corp just released their quarterly earning a short while ago. Middleby beat analyst expectations by ~2.5% The highlights of the quarter include the 24% increase in operating income, the 32% increase in EPS, and the 2.1% gain in operating margins. In addition, they announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

They are continuing to improve their business with operating margins increasing a little better than 2.1% This was responsible for $2.3M of the $5.58M or 41% of the gain in quarterly Gross Profit. It will be hard to expect more gains of this magnitude in future years. I would be incredibly surprised if they are able to crack 20% operating income margins.

Middleby has some promising new products coming out with significant gains in cooking time and energy efficiency. Moreover, they are making significant strides in market share within the fast food industry. This should continue to propel sales in future years. It will be interesting to see the adaption rate with the new ovens. As long as food quality is similar it should be hard for businesses to ignore the 30% increase in energy efficiency.

There were a couple of developments I would like to comment on. Diluted share count increased by 102K shares. The market value of this is $14.28M. This is very significant. I pray the large majority of this increase was due to acquisitions. Middleby normally has done a very good job decreasing share count with repurchases.

I am surprised by the stock split. This this absolutely nothing for shareholders. The pie has simply been divided into more pieces. The net will be the value of the company less the cost of implementing the share split.

Finally, I am not happy by the lack of the cash flow statement. Hopefully we will see this out in a few days. However, in looking at the last quarter it appears that we have ~6M increase in current assets mostly into Accounts Receivable and Inventories. On the other side we have a net decrease in current liabilities of ~$10.5M mostly to accrued expenses along with a $5M increase in debt. We will have to wait for the cash flow statement to see how the Free Cash Flow looks.

Recent 5% correction makes this great company a good buy.

Long term performer.everyone agrees one of the best companies out there.

I first bought it at under $7 in 2003 and see no reason that they will not do great as they pay down the current debt.

The Middleby Corporation (MIDD) has met or exceeded earnings
estimates in 13 consecutive quarters, with 12 of those periods
registering positive surprises. One analyst raised his numbers
for this year. Over the past 60 days, this year's earnings
estimates have increased 22 cents to $6.02 per share. The
stock is trading at 20x next year's estimates compared to its
long-term growth rate of 15%.

CEO brings so much energy and commitment to this company. Restaurants constantly looking for efficient products, which MIDD provides.

Its all about the mngt. with room to keep growing.

3/8/07 4th quarter and year end results released after market close

* Record 4th quarter sales of98.3 million, a 27.8% increase
* Q4 NI of 11.0 million or 1.34 per share in 4th quarter
* Full year sales of 403.1 million and NI of 42.4 million or $5.13 per share
* Debt reduced from 121.6 million in q4'05 to 82.8 million in q4'06

Last quarter Midd traded in an approx range of 85 and 120. This represented a p/e range of 18.2 - 25.7
This same range based on new TTM eps of $5.23 would be $93.36 - $131.84

11/6/06 Midd released earnings after market close (89.26 closing price)
* 3rd quarter sales of 103,239,000 and earnings of 12,177,000 were records
* EPS increased from $1.19 in q3'05 to $1.48 in q3'06
* New TTM earnings are $4.67
* Sales increased 27.6% (20.3% growth from acquisitions and 7.3% organic)
* Operating income increased 29.1%. As a percentage of sales, operating income increased to 20.4% from 20.1%
* Operating cash flows were utilized to reduce total debt by $12,115,000 during the third quarter to $97,229,000
LT debt has been reduced by 24.366 million over the last 9 months.
* Middleby completed the acquisition of Houno A/S during the 3rd quarter. This was a cash transaction

They have done well in the commercial sector, but the stock has been a little flat since Middleby aquired a residential oven company. It might take some time to ramp up the residential sales.

Dominant manufacturer in its space with little credible competition at this point in time. Shows the ability to buy other businesses in its niche and enhance their profitability. Management is focused on their niche and not distracted by side items.

The high level of management insight and motivation (due to their vested interests in Middleby) will profit investors for years to come.

Service industry and food

Let's see how the results do today

This one has been a real winner for me. Very volatile, but overall, a winner. Not for the weak at heart. My only concern is that the stock price being high will scare off individual investors. (Bought 4/15/05 on Hidden Gems recommendation)

CONCENTRATING MORE ON CORE BUSINESS. NEW TECHNOLOGY.

Excellent, and necessary, product.

I hope this half-baked notion pans out. I don't see why not. I'm a litle late to this party, but the night I think is still relatively young for Middleby. Valuation is pretty fair at this price, though I'd prefer a bit more of a discount. (who woudn't?) Revenue and earning growth the last 3 years have been outstanding. Should continue to grow though not quite at the rate of former years.