Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.4286.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Green Plains stock opened at $14.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.16. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $8.65 and a fifty-two week high of $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $446.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. Green Plains had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 6.78%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Green Plains will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter valued at $156,703,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Green Plains by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,025,000 after buying an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Green Plains by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,772,000 after buying an additional 85,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Green Plains by 0.5% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Green Plains by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after acquiring an additional 966,069 shares during the period.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ: GPRE) is an agtech and biorefining company that converts sustainably sourced agricultural commodities, primarily corn, into value-added products. Its operations produce renewable ethanol, which is used as a transportation fuel and fuel additive, along with distillers grains and other feed ingredients for livestock and poultry markets.

The company also produces renewable corn oil for feed and fuel applications and develops higher-protein ingredients designed for animal nutrition and other specialty markets.