Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 8% – What’s Next?

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shares were up 8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $13.15 and last traded at $12.90. Approximately 231,856 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,093,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $26.00 to $23.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Green Plains from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Green Plains from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Green Plains from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Green Plains from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $832.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.87 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.47.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $618.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.70 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 4.81% and a negative net margin of 0.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.89) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Green Plains Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 6.3% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 4.1% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 2.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 103,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 9.7% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 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.