MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) shares 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.53.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MGPI. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Lake Street Capital lowered MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In related news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 37,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,720,279.19. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.2% during the third 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 position in MGP Ingredients by 9.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,801,000 after buying an additional 68,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 22.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company's stock worth $38,375,000 after buying an additional 248,076 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in MGP Ingredients by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 495,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,261,000 after acquiring an additional 199,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company's stock.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $802.82 million, a PE ratio of 7.60, a PEG 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.94 and its 200-day moving average is $67.47.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.02. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 14.44%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.