American Century Companies Inc. Sells 214,964 Shares of Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 214,964 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.61% of Green Plains worth $1,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Green Plains in the 1st quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of Green Plains stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.64. 2,234,687 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,207,757. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $697.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.22. Green Plains, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.14 and a fifty-two week high of $14.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.99.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price target (up from $4.50) on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.83.

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.