Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.79 and last traded at $16.70, with a volume of 1799457 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GPRE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Green Plains from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.23 and a 200-day moving average of $11.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Green Plains by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 880,217 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,626,000 after buying an additional 216,875 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth $100,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth $116,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 417,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after acquiring an additional 36,002 shares during the period. Finally, Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter worth $2,062,000.

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.