Rafferty Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 105,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at about $549,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 8.5% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the third quarter worth approximately $868,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 263.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 457,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after buying an additional 331,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,051,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,610,000 after buying an additional 99,242 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GPRE shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.25.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GPRE opened at $15.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.14 and a 1-year high of $16.19.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $428.85 million for 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 company’s revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.86) EPS. Research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Green Plains Company Profile

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.