Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Climb 5.6% – What’s Next?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares rose 5.6% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $15.20 and last traded at $15.4230. 332,651 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,509,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Green Plains from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

Green Plains Stock Down 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.77.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.29. Green Plains had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 6.78%. The business had revenue of $446.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $158,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Arlington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $221,000.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc is a biorefining company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 2006, the company develops and operates renewable-fuel and ingredient production facilities that process corn into ethanol and other value-added products.

Its principal products include low-carbon renewable ethanol, renewable corn oil, distillers grains and other feed ingredients used in livestock and aquaculture markets. Green Plains has also developed higher-protein feed products and technologies designed to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of its biorefineries.

The company operates facilities primarily in the U.S.