MIDD - The Middleby Corp - In early-March, the company reported excellent earnings

The company 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%. Full Analysis The Middleby Corporation (MIDD), through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and service of a line of cooking equipment and related products primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Commercial Foodservice Equipment, Industrial Foodservice Equipment, and International Distribution. Middleby markets its products and services through sales personnel, international marketing divisions, and subsidiaries, as well as a network of independent dealers, distributors, consultants, sales representatives, and agents. In early-March, the company reported excellent earnings. The company said it earned $11.1 million, or $1.34 per share, on $98.3 million in sales. Analysts predicted earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter. New acquisitions were responsible for most of the gains. Furthermore, operating margins improved as Middleby worked to integrate the Alkar RapidPak business, which it purchased in December 2005. Net sales rose 27.8% in the fourth quarter. The net sales increase in the fourth quarter reflects the impact of acquisitions, which accounted for 14.5% of sales growth for the quarter. Excluding acquisitions, sales rose 13.3% in the fourth quarter, resulting from new product sales and continued growth in restaurant chain business. Selim A. Bassoul Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We were pleased with the results of the fourth quarter of 2006 and the full year. We realized sales and earnings growth at each of our brands for the quarter and the year. We introduced numerous new and innovative products which contributed to this growth. As we move into 2007, we remain excited about the pipeline of new products focused on speed of cooking, energy savings, and automation." Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home