Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Roth Mkm cut shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens upgraded Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.25.

Green Plains Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of GPRE opened at $13.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $956.81 million, a P/E ratio of -7.25, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.54. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $3.14 and a 12 month high of $15.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 8.70% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $428.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.86) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,561,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after acquiring an additional 966,069 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Green Plains by 201.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 926,553 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,025,000 after purchasing an additional 645,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 619.8% in the 4th quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 747,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,270,000 after purchasing an additional 643,392 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Company Profile

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.