Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Down 6.7% – What’s Next?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares dropped 6.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.61 and last traded at $9.73. Approximately 282,930 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,009,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPRE. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 price target on Green Plains and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $686.69 million, a PE ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.03 and its 200-day moving average is $7.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Green Plains

In related news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 15.0% in the second quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 11,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 19.0% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Green Plains by 15.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 2,083 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.