MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGPI traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $24.90. The stock had a trading volume of 133,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,644. The company has a market capitalization of $530.12 million, a PE ratio of -37.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. MGP Ingredients has a 1 year low of $21.67 and a 1 year high of $38.11.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last posted its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 2.56% and a positive return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $130.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts predict that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Caroline Lux Kaplan sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.85, for a total value of $715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 560,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,378,848.30. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Seaberg sold 181,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total transaction of $4,389,742.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $906,988.08. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 334,535 shares of company stock worth $8,224,668 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MGP Ingredients by 8.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,222,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,576,000 after buying an additional 99,995 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 32.8% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 987,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,879,000 after purchasing an additional 243,909 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 14.9% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 719,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,553,000 after purchasing an additional 93,086 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in MGP Ingredients by 13.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 400,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,015,000 after purchasing an additional 46,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 116.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 359,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,571,000 after buying an additional 193,660 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.