Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.89.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPRE. UBS Group cut shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $20.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens upgraded Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $14.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Green Plains Stock Performance

GPRE opened at $4.86 on Friday. Green Plains has a 1-year low of $4.74 and a 1-year high of $24.04. The stock has a market cap of $314.58 million, a P/E ratio of -3.57 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.86) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.64). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 3.36% and a negative return on equity of 11.88%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Green Plains by 433.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Dauntless Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Green Plains by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Green Plains by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 7,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 5,450 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.