MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $106.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.82 million. MGP Ingredients had a positive return on equity of 7.46% and a negative net margin of 19.82%.MGP Ingredients’s revenue was down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. MGP Ingredients updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.500-1.800 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from MGP Ingredients’ conference call:

• Reported Q1 sales of $106.4M with adjusted EBITDA of $15M and adjusted EPS of $0.15, offset by a $179.5M non‑cash goodwill/asset impairment that produced a $134.8M GAAP loss; management reaffirmed 2026 guidance (sales $480–500M, adj. EBITDA $90–98M, adj. EPS $1.50–1.80) and raised cash‑flow forecasts to OCF $50–55M and FCF $30–35M.
• Announced temporary idling of Limestone Branch and Lux Row distilling operations (affecting 33 employees) to align production with inventory — management says product availability won’t be affected and expects ~ $10M annual cash‑flow improvement and a lower peak net leverage (~3.5x).
• Branded Spirits is being refocused on ~10 priority brands and portfolio rationalization (>30 tail brands discontinued, ~15 more planned) to boost margins (~20bps run‑rate); premium‑plus momentum was highlighted by Penelope Bourbon up 10% and early digital marketing gains for Yellowstone in targeted states.
• Ingredient Solutions delivered 29% sales growth and 56% gross‑profit growth with 14% efficiency gains, but elevated effluent/waste disposal costs have cut into margins (now expected mid‑teens for the year) and require a Q2–Q3 shutdown and equipment additions to materially reduce costs.
• Distilling Solutions sales fell 40% to $28M and gross profit declined 54% amid high industry inventory levels; the company added 20+ brown‑goods customers but expects 2026 to be a trough year while premium white‑goods commercialization scales later in H2.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of MGPI stock traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.20. 348,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,354. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.48 and its 200-day moving average is $22.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $410.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 0.45. MGP Ingredients has a 52 week low of $16.45 and a 52 week high of $34.99.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.64%.

Institutional Trading of MGP Ingredients

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 130.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 237.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 278.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the third quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MGPI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on MGP Ingredients from $41.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark began coverage on MGP Ingredients in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MGP Ingredients currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.75.

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.