MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a drop of 39.5% from the April 30th total of 2,580,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 422,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MGPI stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.85. 310,784 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,788. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.66. MGP Ingredients has a 12-month low of $25.12 and a 12-month high of $92.52. The stock has a market cap of $634.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.32.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $121.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. MGP Ingredients's revenue was down 28.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MGP Ingredients will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MGP Ingredients's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.67%.

Insider Activity

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Martin Roper purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.10 per share, for a total transaction of $496,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,180 shares in the company, valued at $601,758. This trade represents a 471.70% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen Seaberg acquired 5,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.59 per share, for a total transaction of $174,291.32. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 358,899 shares in the company, valued at $11,696,518.41. This represents a 1.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,417 shares of company stock worth $905,556. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 159,121 shares of the company's stock worth $6,265,000 after buying an additional 18,139 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 68,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in MGP Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth about $13,125,000. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MGPI shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised shares of MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.33.

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.