Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.80 and traded as high as $9.84. Green Plains shares last traded at $9.40, with a volume of 1,911,651 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPRE shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Roth Capital downgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.17 and its 200 day moving average is $8.83. The stock has a market cap of $656.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $508.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total transaction of $294,372.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Green Plains by 46.5% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 115.2% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Green Plains by 2,313.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter.

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.