Federated Hermes Inc. Makes New $8.86 Million Investment in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. has acquired a new stake in Green Plains, Inc. valued at approximately $8.86 million, owning about 2.69% of the company as of the most recent reporting period.
• Green Plains reported a loss of $0.88 EPS for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations, with revenues slightly below forecasts at $601.52 million.
• Recent analyst ratings have downgraded Green Plains, with Bank of America reducing its target price from $10.00 to $4.50, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the company’s performance.

Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,826,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $8,860,000. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 2.69% of Green Plains as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth $10,940,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Green Plains by 424.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 804,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,624,000 after purchasing an additional 650,937 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Green Plains by 92.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,020,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,671,000 after buying an additional 488,870 shares during the last quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 159.4% in the first quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC now owns 740,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 454,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Green Plains by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 511,295 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,847,000 after buying an additional 395,195 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GPRE traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.49. The stock had a trading volume of 501,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,778. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.18. Green Plains, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.14 and a 52 week high of $15.70.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $601.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.62 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 12.76% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $10.00 to $4.50 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.42.

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.