Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Green Plains from “Strong Buy” to “Buy.” Despite differing analyst views, MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $18.75.
• Green Plains reported quarterly EPS of $1.03, beating the $0.56 consensus, but revenue of $495.99 million fell short of estimates and was down 2.5% year over year.
• Shares were down 2.1%, with the stock opening at $13.32; its reported 12-month range was $9.29 to $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.75.

Green Plains Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ GPRE opened at $13.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $940.66 million, a P/E ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Green Plains has a 12-month low of $9.29 and a 12-month high of $19.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $14.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.29.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.47. Green Plains had a return on equity of 23.31% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $495.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $509.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Green Plains's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Green Plains will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth about $156,703,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,643,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,039,000 after acquiring an additional 145,741 shares during the last quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,542,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,546,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,282,000 after acquiring an additional 234,689 shares in the last quarter.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc. is a U.S. agribusiness and renewable fuels company that produces low-carbon biofuels and agricultural ingredients. Founded in 2004, the company operates biorefineries primarily in the Midwest, where corn is processed into fuel-grade ethanol and related products. Its co-products include distillers grains, which are used in animal feed, and corn oil, which can be used in feed and renewable fuel applications. Green Plains also works to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of its production processes and develop higher-value ingredients from agricultural materials.

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