Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 103,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,072,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.47% of MGP Ingredients at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 192.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 699 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2,375.6% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,015 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 1,167.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MGPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price target on MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.00.

MGP Ingredients Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:MGPI traded down $0.92 on Thursday, reaching $27.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,318. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.12 and a 12-month high of $92.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.30. The firm has a market cap of $593.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.61. 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. MGP Ingredients's payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.