Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE Stock Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Green Plains stake by 94.3% in the third quarter, acquiring 234,689 additional shares for a total of 483,502 shares valued at approximately $7.28 million, or 0.69% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with Green Plains receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $17.00, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $14.19.
• Green Plains reported quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.54, though revenue of $446.22 million fell short of the $542.38 million consensus forecast.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) by 94.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 483,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 234,689 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.69% of Green Plains worth $7,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter worth $221,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 97.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 290,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 143,898 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter worth about $274,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Green Plains in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Green Plains from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.00.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of GPRE stock opened at $14.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $994.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $15.07 and its 200 day moving average is $15.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Green Plains, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.18 and a 52-week high of $19.65.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $446.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.38 million. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Green Plains Profile

Green Plains Inc is a biorefining company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 2006, the company develops and operates renewable-fuel and ingredient production facilities that process corn into ethanol and other value-added products.

Its principal products include low-carbon renewable ethanol, renewable corn oil, distillers grains and other feed ingredients used in livestock and aquaculture markets. Green Plains has also developed higher-protein feed products and technologies designed to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of its biorefineries.

The company operates facilities primarily in the U.S.

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