Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.00.

GPRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th.

Green Plains Stock Up 5.1%

Green Plains stock opened at $10.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $706.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $3.14 and a fifty-two week high of $12.31.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Green Plains

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of Green Plains stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 60,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,906.58. This trade represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Green Plains in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the first quarter valued at approximately $422,000. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the first quarter worth $141,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 54.4% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Green Plains during the first quarter worth $129,000.

About Green Plains

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.