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

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.00.

GPRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Capital lowered shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 target price on Green Plains and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Tudor Pickering raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of GPRE opened at $10.32 on Friday. Green Plains has a one year low of $3.14 and a one year high of $12.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.12 and its 200-day moving average is $8.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $720.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 1.40.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $508.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 8.37% and a negative return on equity of 16.78%. Green Plains’s revenue was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Green Plains

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% 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 this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,561,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 201.2% in the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after buying an additional 926,553 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,165,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 504,433 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 79.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 857,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,539,000 after acquiring an additional 379,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth $2,276,000.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.