Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Green Plains, with one sell, five hold, and three buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $15.43, close to the stock’s reported price of $15.06.
• Several institutional investors increased exposure, including BlackRock, which purchased a new stake valued at approximately $156.7 million, while Squarepoint Ops nearly doubled its holdings.
• Green Plains reported quarterly EPS of $0.83, beating the $0.54 consensus estimate, although revenue of $446.2 million fell short of the $542.4 million forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $2.04.

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.43.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Green Plains from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter valued at $156,703,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth $1,491,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 290,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 143,898 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 8,139.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 94,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 93,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,166,000.

Green Plains Stock Performance

NASDAQ GPRE opened at $15.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.99. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $8.68 and a fifty-two week high of $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 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 return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 6.78%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

About Green Plains

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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