Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $15.43 target price.
• Green Plains reported quarterly EPS of $0.83, beating the $0.54 consensus estimate, though revenue of $446.22 million fell short of the $542.38 million forecast.
• The stock opened at $15.07, with a $1.06 billion market capitalization and a 52-week trading range of $8.65 to $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Green Plains Price Performance

NASDAQ:GPRE opened at $15.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.87. Green Plains has a 1-year low of $8.65 and a 1-year high of $19.65. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $446.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.38 million. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Green Plains by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Green Plains by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 52,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Green Plains by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 26,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817 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.

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