MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Short Interest Down 14.9% in April

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 938,886 shares, a drop of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 1,103,414 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 215,173 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MGPI traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 227,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,734. MGP Ingredients has a 1-year low of $16.45 and a 1-year high of $34.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.58 million, a P/E ratio of -1.74 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 2.74.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.11. MGP Ingredients had a negative net margin of 45.70% and a positive return on equity of 7.48%. The firm had revenue of $106.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $105.32 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. MGP Ingredients’s revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MGP Ingredients has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Illumine Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 18,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 20,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 130.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Mairs & Power Inc. increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 176,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MGPI shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $41.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGP Ingredients has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.75.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

MGP Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: MGPI) is a leading producer of distilled spirits and specialty ingredient solutions for the food, beverage and consumer products industries. Headquartered in Atchison, Kansas, the company operates two main facilities—its historic Atchison plant, founded in 1941 as Midwest Grain Products, and a modern distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. MGP Ingredients supplies an array of distillation products under its beverage and ingredient segments, serving brand owners, private-label producers and co-packers worldwide.

The beverage segment features a broad portfolio of premium spirits, including bourbon and rye whiskies, vodka, gin and neutral spirits.