Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund

Texas Permanent School Fund reduced its stake in shares of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE – Get Rating) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,919 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund owned about 0.07% of Green Plains worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Green Plains by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Green Plains by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Green Plains by 2.2% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Green Plains by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,709 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, FourThought Financial LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 11.1% in the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Green Plains news, CEO Todd A. Becker sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $1,050,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 751,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,566,529.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.31, for a total value of $939,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,194,570.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd A. Becker sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $1,050,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 751,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,529.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on GPRE shares. Stephens lowered shares of Green Plains from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Green Plains from $44.00 to $49.00 in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.17.

Green Plains Stock Up 5.2 %

GPRE stock opened at $31.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.16 and a beta of 1.73. Green Plains Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.33 and a 52 week high of $41.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $832.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $823.35 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 14.94% and a negative net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.16) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Green Plains Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Green Plains Profile

(Get Rating)

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.