MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MGP Ingredients from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.25.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MGPI opened at $24.93 on Friday. MGP Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $21.67 and a fifty-two week high of $38.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.65. The firm has a market cap of $530.76 million, a PE ratio of -37.21 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $130.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.33 million. MGP Ingredients had a positive return on equity of 9.65% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. MGP Ingredients has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.600-2.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 81,616 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.84, for a total transaction of $2,108,957.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $911,764.40. The trade was a 69.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Caroline Lux Kaplan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.85, for a total value of $715,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 560,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,378,848.30. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 334,535 shares of company stock valued at $8,224,668 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGPI. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 183.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 743,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,274,000 after purchasing an additional 480,885 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in MGP Ingredients during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,702,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 116.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 359,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,571,000 after buying an additional 193,660 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,222,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,576,000 after acquiring an additional 99,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 719,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,553,000 after acquiring an additional 93,086 shares during the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: MGPI) is a leading producer of distilled spirits and specialty ingredient solutions for the food, beverage and consumer products industries. Headquartered in Atchison, Kansas, the company operates two main facilities—its historic Atchison plant, founded in 1941 as Midwest Grain Products, and a modern distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. MGP Ingredients supplies an array of distillation products under its beverage and ingredient segments, serving brand owners, private-label producers and co-packers worldwide.

The beverage segment features a broad portfolio of premium spirits, including bourbon and rye whiskies, vodka, gin and neutral spirits.