Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Stephens upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Stephens now has a $17.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $10.00. Green Plains traded as high as $14.89 and last traded at $14.5260, with a volume of 139331 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.85.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on GPRE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 687,385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,736,000 after purchasing an additional 101,897 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth $2,361,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Green Plains by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,873,000 after buying an additional 966,069 shares during the period. Future Fund LLC purchased a new position in Green Plains during the fourth quarter worth $2,361,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Green Plains by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,672,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,392,000 after acquiring an additional 93,950 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Trading Up 3.2%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.56 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a negative return on equity of 8.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.86) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

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.