Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stake in Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its holdings in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 43.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 815,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 626,542 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Green Plains were worth $13,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 645,170 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,772,000 after purchasing an additional 85,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,187,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,237 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position 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 worth $17,873,000 after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,525,000 after purchasing an additional 712,337 shares during the period.

Green Plains Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Green Plains stock opened at $16.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.67. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.16 and a 1 year high of $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $446.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPRE shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Green Plains from $12.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.43.

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.