Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.4286.

GPRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Green Plains from $12.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kailix Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,369,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,418,000 after buying an additional 213,888 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the first quarter worth about $1,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Green Plains by 9.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,643,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,039,000 after acquiring an additional 145,741 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Green Plains during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,596,000.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GPRE opened at $15.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.17. Green Plains has a 52 week low of $7.53 and a 52 week high of $19.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.91 and a 200 day moving average of $15.46.

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

About Green Plains

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.