Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Up 12.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were up 12.1% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $20.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Green Plains traded as high as $18.78 and last traded at $19.2920. 364,971 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,503,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on GPRE. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Green Plains from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.43.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Green Plains by 3.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Green Plains by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Green Plains by 1.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.33 and a beta of 1.19.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $445.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. Green Plains’s revenue was down 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

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.