MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MGPI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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.

Insider Transactions at MGP Ingredients

In other news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 28,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.82, for a total transaction of $872,329.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 283,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,739,596.58. This represents a 9.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,388,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,125,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,932,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 67.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 495,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,261,000 after buying an additional 199,550 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,164,000. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGPI opened at $30.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $656.60 million, a P/E ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.98. MGP Ingredients has a twelve month low of $29.84 and a twelve month high of $92.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 31.79%.

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.