Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.5714.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPRE. UBS Group lifted their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 62.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 152,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 58,767 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 69.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 559,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 229,353 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 6.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $297,000.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GPRE opened at $17.76 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.56. Green Plains has a 1 year low of $3.38 and a 1 year high of $18.08.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.56 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 8.70% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.Green Plains’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.86) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Green Plains

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.