Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Price Target Raised to $15.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 7.66% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GPRE. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Green Plains Stock Performance

GPRE stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.25. The company had a trading volume of 411,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,564. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $3.14 and a 12 month high of $16.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.56 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a negative return on equity of 8.70%. Green Plains’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.86) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Green Plains by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,025,000 after purchasing an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Green Plains by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,772,000 after buying an additional 85,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Green Plains by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,187,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,438,000 after buying an additional 10,237 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Green Plains by 112.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,873,000 after acquiring an additional 966,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Green Plains by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,525,000 after acquiring an additional 712,337 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc is a leading producer of fuel-grade ethanol and related co-products in the United States. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates an integrated network of biorefineries that convert corn and other grains into renewable fuels. Through its production facilities, Green Plains supplies ethanol to domestic fuel markets and export channels, supporting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner-burning transportation options.

Beyond ethanol, Green Plains manufactures a range of co-products that add value throughout the agricultural supply chain.