MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $44.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MGP Ingredients traded as low as $37.61 and last traded at $37.64, with a volume of 76325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.53.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MGPI. Truist Financial lowered their target price on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price objective on MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MGP Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.29.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 107.9% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 13,332 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 16,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients during the second quarter worth $277,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 20.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,457,000 after buying an additional 19,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients during the second quarter valued at about $22,028,000. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MGP Ingredients Trading Down 5.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $802.82 million, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.47.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.02. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 14.44%. The business 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 company posted $1.34 earnings per share. MGP Ingredients’s revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.31%. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.