MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

MGP Ingredients Stock Down 2.3 %

MGPI stock opened at $80.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.51, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. MGP Ingredients has a 12 month low of $75.78 and a 12 month high of $124.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.87.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.26. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $214.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In other news, VP Erika Lapish bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.86 per share, with a total value of $38,930.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,823. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 28.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,873,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,427,000 after buying an additional 349,237 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,126,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,965,000 after buying an additional 31,839 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 888,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,570,000 after buying an additional 13,587 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,804,000 after buying an additional 17,967 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 526,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,001,000 after buying an additional 22,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.