Short Interest in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Declines By 15.7%

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,198,612 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 26th total of 1,422,466 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 341,402 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 8.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MGPI opened at $18.60 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.78. MGP Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $16.45 and a fifty-two week high of $34.99. The company has a market capitalization of $397.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 2.61.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $138.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.84 million. MGP Ingredients had a positive return on equity of 7.46% and a negative net margin of 19.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. MGP Ingredients has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. Analysts expect that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is -9.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 653.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MGP Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in MGP Ingredients by 237.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 278.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MGPI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on MGP Ingredients from $41.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MGP Ingredients from $29.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

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.