Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Tudor Pickering

Key Points

• Green Plains has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating by Tudor Pickering, with a target price of $14.00 set for the stock.
• Despite the upgrade, Green Plains recently reported a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectations for that quarter.
• Institutional interest is growing, as several investors have significantly increased their holdings in Green Plains over recent quarters, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Squarepoint Ops LLC.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Tudor Pickering from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target (up previously from $4.50) on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer raised Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.57.

Green Plains Stock Performance

NASDAQ GPRE opened at $10.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $657.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 1.26. Green Plains has a 12-month low of $3.14 and a 12-month high of $14.04.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) earnings per share 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 company's revenue was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.38) EPS. Research analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Green Plains

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $575,906.58. This represents a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Green Plains by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. GatePass Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 39,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 1,053.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 141,132 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 155,932 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Green Plains in the second quarter worth about $391,000. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 173.5% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 31,144 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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