GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 6,210.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,982 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,285 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.21% of MGP Ingredients worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $28,388,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $13,125,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $12,932,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $7,164,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 340,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,404,000 after buying an additional 161,295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin Roper purchased 15,000 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.10 per share, with a total value of $496,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,180 shares in the company, valued at $601,758. The trade was a 471.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Lake Street Capital raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.33.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

MGP Ingredients stock opened at $29.24 on Monday. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.12 and a 12 month high of $92.52. The company has a market cap of $621.99 million, a PE ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.32. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.60.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $121.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.67%.

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.