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

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MGPI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.25.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGPI opened at $24.76 on Friday. MGP Ingredients has a 1 year low of $21.67 and a 1 year high of $38.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.70.

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

Insider Transactions at MGP Ingredients

In other news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 181,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total value of $4,389,742.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $906,988.08. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Caroline Lux Kaplan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $13,378,848.30. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 334,535 shares of company stock valued at $8,224,668 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MGPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 2.3% in the third quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 18,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in MGP Ingredients by 130.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Mairs & Power Inc. grew its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 0.4% during the third quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 176,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 4.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.