Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 645,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Green Plains worth $46,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Green Plains by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 152,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 58,767 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Green Plains by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 559,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 229,353 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Green Plains by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Green Plains by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Green Plains during the 2nd quarter valued at $297,000.

Green Plains Trading Up 2.8%

Green Plains stock opened at $17.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.23 and its 200-day moving average is $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.97 and a 1 year high of $18.94. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.43. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. The company had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

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.