Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 11,846 MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $986,000. Weiss Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.05% of MGP Ingredients as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in MGP Ingredients in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,028,000. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in MGP Ingredients by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,375,000 after acquiring an additional 248,076 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in MGP Ingredients by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,102,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,824,000 after acquiring an additional 137,292 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 717,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,746,000 after acquiring an additional 131,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MGP Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,777,000. 77.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MGPI. Lake Street Capital cut MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital set a $75.00 target price on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.67.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

MGPI traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.48. 396,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,137. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.63. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.48 and a 52-week high of $102.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.61.

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

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.98%.

Insider Transactions at MGP Ingredients

In related 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MGP Ingredients 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.