Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday 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 $19.65 and last traded at $19.23, with a volume of 5146703 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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 downgraded Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.43.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Green Plains in the second quarter worth about $61,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000.

Green Plains Stock Up 11.7%

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

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share 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.