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

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with an average target price of $8.83.
• The company reported a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for its last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations.
• Shares of GPRE are currently trading at $9.65, reflecting a 52-week low of $3.14 and a 52-week high of $14.04.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.8333.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPRE. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target (up from $4.50) on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research raised Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 28th.

Green Plains Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GPRE stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.32. 1,004,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,930,394. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.30. Green Plains has a 1-year low of $3.14 and a 1-year high of $14.04. The company has a market cap of $610.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 46.5% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 54.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 115.2% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 2,313.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Green Plains in the second quarter worth approximately $60,000.

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.