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

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

Separately, Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

MGP Ingredients Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:MGPI opened at $79.45 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 4.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.76. MGP Ingredients has a 52 week low of $75.78 and a 52 week high of $124.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.42 and a 200 day moving average of $90.44.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $214.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.87 million. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MGP Ingredients will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 10.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MGP Ingredients news, VP Erika Lapish bought 500 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.86 per share, with a total value of $38,930.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,823. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 28.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,756,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MGP Ingredients by 7.7% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in MGP Ingredients by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.