BlackRock Inc. Purchases 1,181,259 Shares of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)

BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE – Get Rating) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,033,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,181,259 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 16.92% of Green Plains worth $291,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Green Plains by 8,023.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 39.2% during the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 714.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 1,971.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of GPRE stock opened at $31.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.42, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.10 and its 200 day moving average is $32.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Green Plains Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.09 and a 52-week high of $41.25.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $914.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $894.42 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 3.47% and a negative return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Green Plains from $44.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Stephens downgraded shares of Green Plains from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.83.

Green Plains Company Profile

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Green Plains, Inc engages in the production of fuel-grade ethanol and corn oil, the provision of grain handling, and storage commodity marketing and distribution services. It operates through the following segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers’ grain, and corn oil at ethanol plants in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas.