Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 12.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were up 12.1% during trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $20.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Green Plains traded as high as $18.78 and last traded at $19.2920. 364,971 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,503,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,025,000 after buying an additional 645,170 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,772,000 after buying an additional 85,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,187,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,438,000 after acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after acquiring an additional 966,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,525,000 after acquiring an additional 712,337 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Trading Up 11.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.27 and a beta of 1.19.

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