UBS Group Increases Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Price Target to $20.00

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GPRE. Wall Street Zen lowered Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stephens raised their price target on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of Green Plains stock opened at $19.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -58.27 and a beta of 1.19. Green Plains has a 12-month low of $7.07 and a 12-month high of $19.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.73.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Green Plains will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Green Plains by 15.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Green Plains by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,772,000 after acquiring an additional 85,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 period. 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 acquiring an additional 966,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Green Plains by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,525,000 after acquiring an additional 712,337 shares in the last quarter.

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.