Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

GPRE has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Green Plains Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Green Plains stock opened at $15.07 on Monday. Green Plains has a twelve month low of $8.65 and a twelve month high of $19.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Green Plains during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter worth about $158,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Green Plains by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter.

About Green Plains

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.