Tieton Capital Management LLC Makes New $6 Million Investment in MGP Ingredients, Inc. $MGPI

Tieton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 246,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,998,000. MGP Ingredients accounts for about 2.1% of Tieton Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MGP Ingredients by 8.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,222,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,576,000 after purchasing an additional 99,995 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 400,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,015,000 after buying an additional 46,978 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 193,660 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 247,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,428,000 after buying an additional 55,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 235,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after buying an additional 72,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of MGPI stock opened at $17.07 on Tuesday. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.45 and a 1-year high of $33.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.87. The company has a market cap of $364.80 million, a P/E ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.11. MGP Ingredients had a positive return on equity of 7.48% and a negative net margin of 45.70%.The company had revenue of $106.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -4.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MGPI. Wall Street Zen downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MGP Ingredients from $29.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on MGP Ingredients from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised MGP Ingredients from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MGP Ingredients news, major shareholder Caroline Lux Kaplan sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.82, for a total value of $534,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 500,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,927,071.56. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 31.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.