Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $24.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

GPRE has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Green Plains from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Green Plains from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Green Plains from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Green Plains from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GPRE opened at $19.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -15.67 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.31. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $19.27 and a fifty-two week high of $36.02.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.48). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 2.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.86%. The business had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.20) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Green Plains will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.73 per share, with a total value of $98,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,011,778.49. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 3rd quarter valued at about $164,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at about $196,000.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.