MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14, FiscalAI reports. MGP Ingredients had a positive return on equity of 9.65% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The company had revenue of $138.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. MGP Ingredients updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.500-1.800 EPS.

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

• Management finished 2025 above guidance and delivered strong cash generation, with consolidated operating cash flow up 19% to $122 million despite lower earnings.
• The company expects 2026 to be another down year with net sales $480–500M, adjusted EBITDA $90–98M, and adjusted EPS $1.50–1.80, and a $111 million Penelope earnout in Q2 will push net leverage to about 3.75x and reduce 2026 operating cash flow by nearly $50M.
• Branded Spirits will be the primary growth engine — Penelope grew ~80% in Nielsen dollar sales, doubled distribution points, and management will modestly increase A&P to ~13.5% with a major shift into digital and a plan to rationalize ~20% of tail SKUs.
• Distilling Solutions remains under significant pressure (Q4 sales down ~47%, full‑year down ~45%) and 2026 guidance assumes brown‑goods sales down ~35% and gross profit down ~40%, though management expects this to be the trough and anticipates clearer visibility by mid‑year.
• Ingredient Solutions appears poised to recover after operational fixes — the key equipment was back online in November, extrusion protein sales hit a record in Q4, and the company expects strong double‑digit sales growth and mid‑to‑high‑teens gross margins in 2026, albeit with some near‑term waste‑disposal costs remaining.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGPI traded down $5.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.23. 698,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,331. The stock has a market cap of $430.78 million, a P/E ratio of -29.78 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. MGP Ingredients has a twelve month low of $20.11 and a twelve month high of $35.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MGPI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research cut shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 181,095 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total transaction of $4,389,742.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 37,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $906,988.08. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 304,535 shares of company stock worth $7,509,168. Company insiders own 34.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,437,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,939,000 after buying an additional 450,713 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 99,995 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 13.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 400,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,015,000 after acquiring an additional 46,978 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 116.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 359,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,571,000 after acquiring an additional 193,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in MGP Ingredients by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 359,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,737,000 after purchasing an additional 80,808 shares in the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.