Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Up 9.3% – Here’s What Happened

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares were up 9.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.11 and last traded at $12.1810. Approximately 1,170,077 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 1,290,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 price target on Green Plains and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $839.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.63.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.48. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 16.78% and a negative net margin of 8.37%.The company had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Green Plains by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,051,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,610,000 after buying an additional 99,242 shares during the period. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 926,553 shares during the period. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 19.6% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 211,303 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 76.3% during the second quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,165,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 504,433 shares during the period. Finally, Kailix Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Green Plains by 41.4% during the third quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,155,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,155,000 after purchasing an additional 338,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.