Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $15.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Green Plains traded as high as $16.85 and last traded at $16.70, with a volume of 229424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.19.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GPRE. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 152,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 58,767 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Green Plains by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 559,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 229,353 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Green Plains by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Green Plains by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Green Plains by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46.

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

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.