Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.38.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GPRE shares. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Green Plains from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on shares of Green Plains from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Green Plains from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GPRE opened at $15.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $969.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.20 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.78. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $14.40 and a fifty-two week high of $36.02.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.48). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 2.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.86%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.20) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Broad Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 2,352,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,317,000 after purchasing an additional 352,000 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,162,000. Masters Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Green Plains by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Masters Capital Management LLC now owns 500,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,610,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter worth approximately $848,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 167,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after acquiring an additional 71,099 shares in the last quarter.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.