MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Shares Up 5.5% - Here's What Happened

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) shares rose 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $36.74 and last traded at $36.57. Approximately 248,404 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 434,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MGPI. TD Cowen cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MGP Ingredients presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.29.

MGP Ingredients Trading Up 5.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $804.80 million, a PE ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.68.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $161.50 million for 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 for the quarter was down 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio is 9.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.03, for a total transaction of $324,511.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,720,279.19. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 201.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 43,233 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients in the third quarter worth approximately $6,100,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the third quarter worth $373,000. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company's stock.

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.

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