Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE Stake Raised by Kailix Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Kailix Advisors LLC boosted its Green Plains stake by 18.5% in Q4, buying 213,888 shares and bringing its holding to 1,369,211 shares worth about $13.4 million. Green Plains is now the fund’s second-largest position and about 15% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in GPRE, including Vanguard, Assenagon Asset Management, and others, signaling continued hedge fund interest in the stock.
• Green Plains recently reported EPS of $0.42, beating expectations, but revenue of $445.8 million fell short of estimates and was down 25.9% from a year earlier. Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a target price of $14.29, while the stock was trading near its 52-week high at $18.19.

Kailix Advisors LLC increased its position in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,369,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 213,888 shares during the period. Green Plains accounts for about 15.0% of Kailix Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Kailix Advisors LLC owned about 1.96% of Green Plains worth $13,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,025,000 after buying an additional 645,170 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth about $174,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 20,084 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 825.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 436,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,275,000 after buying an additional 389,102 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of GPRE stock opened at $18.19 on Monday. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.93 and a 1 year high of $18.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.68. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -55.12 and a beta of 1.24.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.43. The business had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a positive return on equity of 2.86% and a negative net margin of 0.80%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.14) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Green Plains 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.