Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.79 and traded as high as $14.88. Green Plains shares last traded at $14.80, with a volume of 1,445,542 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.85 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Green Plains in the second quarter valued at $61,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Green Plains in the third quarter valued at $67,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Green Plains in the third quarter valued at $95,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Green Plains in the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Green Plains in the fourth quarter valued at $98,000.

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.