Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 12.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were up 12.1% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $20.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Green Plains traded as high as $18.78 and last traded at $19.2920. 364,971 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,503,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Stephens upped their price objective on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $61,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Green Plains in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Green Plains during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000.

Green Plains Trading Up 11.3%

The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.69.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $532.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS 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.