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

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.1429.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 457,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 331,326 shares during the period. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 201.2% during the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 926,553 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter worth about $197,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Green Plains in the 3rd quarter worth about $924,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 45,397 shares during the period.

Green Plains Stock Down 6.1%

GPRE opened at $15.50 on Friday. Green Plains has a 1-year low of $3.14 and a 1-year high of $16.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.26. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.20, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Green Plains Company Profile

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.