MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MGPI. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MGP Ingredients currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.60.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of MGPI opened at $25.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $548.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.42 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.68. MGP Ingredients has a 12 month low of $21.67 and a 12 month high of $35.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 560,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,378,848.30. This represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Seaberg sold 81,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.84, for a total transaction of $2,108,957.44. Following the sale, the director owned 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $911,764.40. The trade was a 69.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 worth $8,224,668. 34.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MGPI. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 130.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 653.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in MGP Ingredients by 237.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 278.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

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.