MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Trading Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) shares traded down 3.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $37.75 and last traded at $37.81. 27,820 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 144,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price target on MGP Ingredients in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Lake Street Capital cut MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.83.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.04 million, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NASDAQ:MGPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. MGP Ingredients’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 9.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 37,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,279.19. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,102,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,824,000 after purchasing an additional 137,292 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,801,000 after purchasing an additional 68,278 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 717,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,746,000 after buying an additional 131,542 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 92.7% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,375,000 after buying an additional 248,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 67.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 495,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.

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.