Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given New $20.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $12.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.21% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Stephens upped their price target on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Green Plains Trading Up 2.6%

Green Plains stock opened at $17.21 on Friday. Green Plains has a 52 week low of $7.07 and a 52 week high of $18.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.69.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.43. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. The company had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.14) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,025,000 after acquiring an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Green Plains by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,772,000 after purchasing an additional 85,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Green Plains by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,187,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,237 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Green Plains by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Green Plains by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,525,000 after purchasing an additional 712,337 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.