Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GPRE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens upgraded Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

Green Plains Stock Up 1.9%

GPRE opened at $15.22 on Monday. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $3.14 and a 12 month high of $16.35. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.63 and a 200 day moving average of $10.95.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 201.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 926,553 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 263.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the second quarter worth approximately $197,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Green Plains by 112.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 45,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the third quarter valued at approximately $868,000.

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.