MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Short Interest Down 14.9% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 14.9% in April to 938,886 shares (about 6.7% of shares short) with a days-to-cover of 4.4.
• Q1 results beat on EPS ($0.15 vs. $0.04 expected) but revenue was down 12.5% year-over-year and the company reported a negative net margin of 45.7%; FY2026 guidance is $1.50–$1.80 EPS versus an analyst consensus of $1.62.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 (annualized $0.48) for a 2.5% yield

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 938,886 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 1,103,414 shares. Approximately 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 215,173 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGPI traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.40. 227,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 283,734. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.24 and its 200-day moving average is $22.76. MGP Ingredients has a 1 year low of $16.45 and a 1 year high of $34.99. The company has a market capitalization of $414.58 million, a P/E ratio of -1.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 2.74.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.11. MGP Ingredients had a negative net margin of 45.70% and a positive return on equity of 7.48%. The firm had revenue of $106.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MGP Ingredients has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 653.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 237.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 278.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MGPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $41.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark initiated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.75.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

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.

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