Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 6% – Should You Buy?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shot up 6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $17.94 and last traded at $17.4960. 621,151 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 1,573,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPRE. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens upgraded Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Green Plains Stock Up 3.5%

The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $428.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.86) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,561,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after buying an additional 966,069 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,025,000 after buying an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 619.8% during the fourth quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 747,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,270,000 after buying an additional 643,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,604,915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,728,000 after acquiring an additional 577,489 shares in the last quarter.

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.