MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 520,155 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 118% from the previous session’s volume of 239,066 shares.The stock last traded at $50.64 and had previously closed at $49.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Lake Street Capital downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGP Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.67.

MGP Ingredients Trading Up 3.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.55 million. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is currently 9.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In other news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 1,109 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total transaction of $99,965.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 134,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,166,105.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MGPI. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 13,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 45.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 2.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in MGP Ingredients by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

MGP Ingredients, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions.