Jump Financial LLC Takes Position in Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC has made a significant investment of $1.35 million in Green Plains, acquiring 279,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company.
• A variety of hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Green Plains, with notable increases from Price T Rowe Associates Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, among others.
• Green Plains has received mixed evaluations from analysts, with Oppenheimer upgrading the stock to an "outperform" rating and setting a new target price of $14.00, while Bank of America set a lower target price of $7.00.

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 279,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,354,000. Jump Financial LLC owned about 0.41% of Green Plains at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 115.2% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 2,313.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 1st quarter worth $51,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GPRE shares. Oppenheimer upgraded Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Green Plains from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target (up previously from $4.50) on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.83.

Green Plains Price Performance

NASDAQ GPRE traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.11. The company had a trading volume of 2,692,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,848. Green Plains, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.14 and a 52 week high of $14.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $728.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.21.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.13). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 13.65% and a negative net margin of 6.34%.The company had revenue of $552.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.38) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.