Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eleven analysts, with an average target price of $9.8571 for the next 12 months.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings missed estimates, reporting an EPS of (0.41) compared to the expected (0.28), alongside a 10.7% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of approximately 30,954 shares by Michelle Mapes, indicating a significant 33.83% decrease in ownership.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.8571.

GPRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Tudor Pickering raised Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 28th.

Green Plains Price Performance

Shares of GPRE stock opened at $11.82 on Thursday. Green Plains has a 52 week low of $3.14 and a 52 week high of $14.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $775.04 million, a PE ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.26. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $9.59 and its 200-day moving average is $6.81.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.38) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Green Plains

In related news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total transaction of $294,372.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 193.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 41,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 27,106 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Green Plains in the first quarter valued at about $358,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 52.7% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 70,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 24,388 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 1st quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 2,026.7% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 295,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 281,706 shares during the last quarter.

About Green Plains

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.

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