Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 113,806 Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 113,806 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Green Plains by 62.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 152,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 58,767 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 69.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 229,353 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,759 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Green Plains by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in Green Plains during the second quarter worth $297,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GPRE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.43.

Green Plains Price Performance

GPRE opened at $15.45 on Monday. Green Plains, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.65 and a fifty-two week high of $19.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.04 and its 200 day moving average is $15.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.29. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $446.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.09) EPS. Research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.