MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Trading Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) traded down 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $46.30 and last traded at $46.47. 150,684 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 246,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital set a $75.00 price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on MGP Ingredients from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.67.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 6.46, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $161.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.55 million. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 14.39%. MGP Ingredients’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 9.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 1,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total value of $99,965.26. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 134,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,166,105.66. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGPI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,135,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,766,000 after acquiring an additional 8,770 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,102,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,824,000 after buying an additional 137,292 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,801,000 after purchasing an additional 68,278 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in MGP Ingredients by 22.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 717,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,746,000 after acquiring an additional 131,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 92.7% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,375,000 after buying an additional 248,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

About MGP Ingredients

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.