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

Shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.29.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital set a $75.00 target price on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Lake Street Capital cut shares of 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.03, for a total value of $324,511.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MGPI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 20.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,457,000 after acquiring an additional 19,203 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 9.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,801,000 after acquiring an additional 68,278 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients during the second quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 7.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 8.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 6,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of MGPI stock opened at $36.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 6.46. MGP Ingredients has a one year low of $34.02 and a one year high of $92.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $791.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.65.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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 business had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is currently 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.