Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $12.47 and last traded at $12.4350, with a volume of 447598 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm cut shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.63.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $884.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.34, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.58 and a 200 day moving average of $9.95.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 16.78% and a negative net margin of 8.37%.The company had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.86) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 15.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 201.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after buying an additional 926,553 shares during the period. Kailix Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,369,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,418,000 after acquiring an additional 213,888 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP grew its position in Green Plains by 19.6% in the third quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,291,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,355,000 after acquiring an additional 211,303 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in Green Plains by 76.3% in the second quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,165,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 504,433 shares during the period.

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.