Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.66 and last traded at $15.50, with a volume of 385977 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPRE. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

Green Plains Trading Up 2.1%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.38, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a negative return on equity of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.86) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Green Plains during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000.

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.