Brokerages Set Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) PT at $10.00

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.00.

GPRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 target price on Green Plains and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th.

Green Plains Price Performance

GPRE stock opened at $9.74 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $10.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.48. The firm has a market cap of $680.14 million, a P/E ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.40. Green Plains has a 1 year low of $3.14 and a 1 year high of $12.31.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 16.78% and a negative net margin of 8.37%.The business’s revenue was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of Green Plains stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 60,558 shares in the company, valued at $575,906.58. This trade represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,561,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 201.2% during the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 926,553 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,165,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,027,000 after buying an additional 504,433 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Green Plains by 79.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 857,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,539,000 after acquiring an additional 379,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,276,000.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.