Bank of America Increases Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Price Target to $9.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target for Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) from $7.00 to $9.00, maintaining an "underperform" rating, indicating a potential downside of 9.64% from the current price.
• Despite the upgrade by Bank of America, other brokerages show mixed ratings for Green Plains, with Weiss Ratings reaffirming a "sell" rating while Oppenheimer increased its rating to "outperform" with a price target of $14.00.
• Green Plains reported a negative earnings per share of ($0.41) for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates and showing a decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $7.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential downside of 9.64% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GPRE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.86.

Green Plains Price Performance

GPRE opened at $9.96 on Tuesday. Green Plains has a one year low of $3.14 and a one year high of $14.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $653.08 million, a P/E ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 1.26.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by ($0.13). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $552.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.38) earnings per share. Green Plains's revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 192.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. GatePass Capital LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 39,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 1,053.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 141,132 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 155,932 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at $391,000. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 173.5% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 31,144 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Company Profile

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.

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