Analysts Set MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Target Price at $33.60

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.60.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MGPI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on MGP Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Transactions at MGP Ingredients

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 181,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total transaction of $4,389,742.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,417 shares in the company, valued at $906,988.08. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Caroline Lux Kaplan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.85, for a total value of $715,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 560,958 shares in the company, valued at $13,378,848.30. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 334,535 shares of company stock valued at $8,224,668. Company insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients during the first quarter worth approximately $735,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in MGP Ingredients by 4.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 116.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 359,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,571,000 after purchasing an additional 193,660 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in MGP Ingredients by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 158,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,668,000 after purchasing an additional 14,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in MGP Ingredients by 89.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MGP Ingredients Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:MGPI opened at $24.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $530.33 million, a PE ratio of -37.18 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.03. MGP Ingredients has a 12 month low of $21.67 and a 12 month high of $36.47.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $130.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.33 million. MGP Ingredients had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a positive return on equity of 9.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.