Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. saw a 20.1% increase in short interest in August, jumping to 8,850,000 shares.
• The company's stock was recently upgraded by Oppenheimer to an "outperform" rating with a target price of $14.00, while Bank of America set a lower target at $7.00.
• In its latest earnings report, Green Plains reported a loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing expectations, and revenue that was down 10.7% year-over-year.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,850,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the August 15th total of 7,370,000 shares. Currently, 13.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 13.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Green Plains by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Green Plains by 54.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,002 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Green Plains by 115.2% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Green Plains by 2,313.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 8,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Green Plains in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000.

Green Plains Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GPRE traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.37. 2,522,837 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,486,702. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.30. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $3.14 and a fifty-two week high of $14.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPRE. Oppenheimer upgraded Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. 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 report on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.83.

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.