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

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Free Report) by 1,292.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,693 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 175,142 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.86% of MGP Ingredients worth $7,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 45.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 162.0% in 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 760 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its stake in MGP Ingredients by 2,375.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company's stock.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

MGPI stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.05. The company had a trading volume of 186,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,588. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.37. The company has a market capitalization of $791.30 million, a P/E ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.65. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.02 and a 1 year high of $92.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 6.46 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $161.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.55 million. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm's revenue was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MGPI shares. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price target on MGP Ingredients in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded MGP Ingredients from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate 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.