Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Down 13.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) dropped 13.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.70 and last traded at $9.7990. Approximately 1,660,255 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 2,008,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPRE shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $15.00 price objective on Green Plains and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Green Plains Stock Up 5.1%

The stock has a market cap of $706.03 million, a PE ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.14 and a 200-day moving average of $7.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total transaction of $294,372.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,906.58. This represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 46.5% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Green Plains by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Green Plains by 115.2% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Green Plains by 2,313.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.