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

Shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.83.

MGPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In related news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 37,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,279.19. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,102,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,824,000 after acquiring an additional 137,292 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,801,000 after purchasing an additional 68,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 717,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,746,000 after purchasing an additional 131,542 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 495,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,261,000 after buying an additional 199,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MGPI opened at $39.37 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 6.46 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $864.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.63. MGP Ingredients has a 1-year low of $38.24 and a 1-year high of $101.69.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.98%.

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.