Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Nine analysts give Green Plains a consensus Hold rating (2 Sell, 4 Hold, 3 Buy) with an average 1‑year target of $13.57.
• Shares trade near their 12‑month high (~$17.76 opened) after a quarter where EPS beat estimates ($0.17 vs. $0.07), but revenue fell 26.6% year‑over‑year and the company reports a negative PE (-9.40) and negative net margin.
• Analyst views are mixed: Oppenheimer upgraded to an Outperform and raised its target to $18, Wall Street Zen upgraded to Buy, while Weiss Ratings reiterated a Sell (D‑).

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.5714.

GPRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Green Plains from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GPRE opened at $17.76 on Monday. Green Plains has a twelve month low of $3.38 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $536.56 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 8.70% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The company's revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.86) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPRE. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Green Plains in the third quarter valued at $8,561,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,873,000 after buying an additional 966,069 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 155.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,114,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,338,000 after buying an additional 678,515 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 15.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 619.8% during the 4th quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 747,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,270,000 after buying an additional 643,392 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Company 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.

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