Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 20,015 Shares of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 26.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,603 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,015 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.15% of Green Plains worth $2,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPRE. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 18.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,182 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 20.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 102,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 17,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 10.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,661,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $107,771,000 after acquiring an additional 447,825 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 0.5% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,805,061 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,733,000 after acquiring an additional 8,183 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Green Plains by 9.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of GPRE stock traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,013,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,814. Green Plains Inc. has a one year low of $14.35 and a one year high of $36.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.15 and a beta of 1.58.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.48). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 7.86% and a negative net margin of 2.43%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.20) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Green Plains Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPRE. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Green Plains from $28.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on Green Plains from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.33.

Green Plains Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.