Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE Shares Bought by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 170.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,133 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,016 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC owned 0.19% of Green Plains worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,351,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Green Plains by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 457,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 331,326 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $924,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Green Plains by 825.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 436,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,275,000 after purchasing an additional 389,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Hill Capital Management LP raised its stake in Green Plains by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,291,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,355,000 after purchasing an additional 211,303 shares during the period.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of GPRE opened at $15.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -46.60 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.13. Green Plains, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.91 and a twelve month high of $18.94.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.43. The company had revenue of $445.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GPRE. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

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.