Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.49 and last traded at $16.40. Approximately 529,674 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,521,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPRE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Green Plains Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.19.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Green Plains by 192.2% during 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. grew its stake in shares of Green Plains by 19.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Green Plains during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000.

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.