MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Stock Price Down 3.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) dropped 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $38.84 and last traded at $40.42. Approximately 60,677 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 258,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 6.46 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $863.07 million, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.63.

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

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is 9.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Lori L.S. Mingus sold 7,050 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.03, for a total transaction of $324,511.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,279.19. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 107.9% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 13,332 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 293,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,440,000 after acquiring an additional 7,042 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in MGP Ingredients during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,010,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in MGP Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,181,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 20.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,457,000 after purchasing an additional 19,203 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.