Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives $12.25 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.25.

GPRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of Green Plains stock opened at $13.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $970.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.54. Green Plains has a twelve month low of $3.14 and a twelve month high of $15.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.52.

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

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 926,553 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 45,397 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 76.3% during the second quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,165,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,027,000 after buying an additional 504,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kailix Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,155,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,155,000 after acquiring an additional 338,000 shares during 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.