Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Down 7% – Should You Sell?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares were down 7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $15.21 and last traded at $15.1130. 184,298 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,497,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Green Plains from $12.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $446.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kailix Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Green Plains by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,369,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,418,000 after acquiring an additional 213,888 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Green Plains during the first quarter valued at about $1,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 9.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,643,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,039,000 after purchasing an additional 145,741 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,873,000 after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the first quarter worth about $4,596,000.

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.