Middleby Falls On Earnings Miss (MIDD)

Shares of Middleby MIDD are down after the company missed earnings estimates yesterday after the close. Middleby, which manufactures cooking equipment, said its earned $0.74 per share in the first quarter. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.82 per share. Revenues topped expectations coming in at $160.7 million versus the $158.6 million consensus. Revenues were down 11.5% year-over-year. The company's gross margin rate improved to 39.5% from 37.9%. CEO Selim Bassoul said, "We began to see initial improvement in sales and orders across our business units." Shares of Middleby are down $3.86, or 6.15%, to $58.89. Over the last 52 weeks shares have traded between $38.57 and $65.21.