Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.41 and last traded at $16.41, with a volume of 555460 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.74 and a 200 day moving average of $10.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.46.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.86) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Green Plains by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Green Plains by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Green Plains by 19.0% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 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.