Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 389,102 Shares of Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management raised its stake in Green Plains by 825.7% in Q4, buying 389,102 shares to hold 436,228 shares (about 0.62% of the company) valued at roughly $4.28 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—three Buys, four Holds and two Sells—yielding a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $13.29, although Oppenheimer, BMO and UBS recently raised targets to $16, $15 and $12 respectively.
• Green Plains reported Q4 EPS of $0.17 (above estimates) while revenue fell 26.6% year-over-year; the company has negative net margin and ROE, a market cap near $1.18 billion, and the stock trading around $16.89 (one-year high $17.94).

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) by 825.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 389,102 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.62% of Green Plains worth $4,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains during the 3rd quarter worth $95,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Green Plains presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.29.

Green Plains Price Performance

Green Plains stock opened at $16.89 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $14.08 and its 200 day moving average is $11.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.46. Green Plains, Inc. has a one year low of $3.14 and a one year high of $17.94.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a negative return on equity of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.86) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc is a leading producer of fuel-grade ethanol and related co-products in the United States. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates an integrated network of biorefineries that convert corn and other grains into renewable fuels. Through its production facilities, Green Plains supplies ethanol to domestic fuel markets and export channels, supporting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner-burning transportation options.

Beyond ethanol, Green Plains manufactures a range of co-products that add value throughout the agricultural supply chain.

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