Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

GPRE has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.25.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of Green Plains stock opened at $13.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Green Plains has a 52 week low of $3.14 and a 52 week high of $15.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.21. The company has a market capitalization of $956.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.25, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.54.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 8.70% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $428.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.86) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Green Plains in the second quarter worth $61,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Green Plains during the second quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $67,000.

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.