Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.25.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPRE. Zacks Research cut shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th.

Green Plains Stock Performance

NASDAQ GPRE opened at $13.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $920.49 million, a P/E ratio of -6.97, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Green Plains has a 12-month low of $3.14 and a 12-month high of $15.64.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $428.85 million for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.86) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter worth about $668,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth about $444,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Green Plains by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 316,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after acquiring an additional 132,779 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Green Plains by 163.2% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 396,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 245,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Green Plains by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 76,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,642 shares during the period.

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.