Lumbard & Kellner LLC Raises Holdings in Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Lumbard & Kellner LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) by 159.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 740,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 454,882 shares during the quarter. Green Plains comprises 1.6% of Lumbard & Kellner LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Lumbard & Kellner LLC owned 1.14% of Green Plains worth $3,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPRE. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter worth $10,940,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 92.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,020,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,671,000 after purchasing an additional 488,870 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth $4,249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 511,295 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,847,000 after purchasing an additional 395,195 shares during the period.

Green Plains Stock Performance

GPRE stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,721,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,467,474. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $4.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Green Plains, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.14 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The stock has a market cap of $370.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.36 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Green Plains from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $20.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $4.50 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.93.

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.