BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Holdings in Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 112.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 2.61% of Green Plains worth $17,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $3,351,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 263.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 457,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after buying an additional 331,326 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $924,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $868,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 825.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 436,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,275,000 after buying an additional 389,102 shares during the period.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of GPRE stock opened at $14.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.36 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.21 and its 200 day moving average is $13.53. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.08 and a 1-year high of $18.94.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.43. The business had revenue of $445.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a positive return on equity of 2.86% and a negative net margin of 0.80%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.14) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPRE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

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.