Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 175,142 Shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 1,292.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,693 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 175,142 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.86% of MGP Ingredients worth $7,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MGPI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 192.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after buying an additional 43,233 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MGP Ingredients in the third quarter valued at $6,100,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients during the third quarter worth $373,000. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $75.00 price target on MGP Ingredients in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MGP Ingredients presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.29.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

MGPI opened at $36.05 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.37. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a one year low of $34.02 and a one year high of $92.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $791.30 million, a P/E ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.65.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.98%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $324,511.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,279.19. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

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.