MGP Ingredients’ (MGPI) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $120.00 target price on the stock.

MGPI has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

MGPI opened at $81.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.46 and a 200 day moving average of $89.30. MGP Ingredients has a fifty-two week low of $75.78 and a fifty-two week high of $124.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 4.51.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $214.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.87 million. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 16.03%. MGP Ingredients’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Erika Lapish purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.86 per share, with a total value of $38,930.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,823. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 54,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,756,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. KLR Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

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.