MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.83.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price target on MGP Ingredients in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

MGP Ingredients Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of MGPI opened at $38.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 6.46, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.21. The firm has a market cap of $853.31 million, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.63. MGP Ingredients has a 12 month low of $38.24 and a 12 month high of $101.69.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.02. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that MGP Ingredients will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.03, for a total transaction of $324,511.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,373 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,279.19. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients during the second quarter worth about $22,028,000. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in MGP Ingredients by 92.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,375,000 after buying an additional 248,076 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in MGP Ingredients by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,102,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,824,000 after buying an additional 137,292 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 717,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,746,000 after buying an additional 131,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,777,000. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MGP Ingredients

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.