Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.56.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPRE. StockNews.com downgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Green Plains in a report on Thursday. Stephens raised Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Green Plains from $13.00 to $8.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Green Plains by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 142,851 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 59,564 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Green Plains by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,150,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,581,000 after acquiring an additional 159,147 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Green Plains in the 3rd quarter valued at $840,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Green Plains by 1,122.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 704,125 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,675,000 after acquiring an additional 646,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 556,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,530,000 after buying an additional 126,795 shares in the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GPRE opened at $6.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $5.96 and a 12 month high of $24.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.32 and a 200-day moving average of $11.61. The company has a market capitalization of $431.22 million, a P/E ratio of -17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.44.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.64). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 4.81% and a negative net margin of 0.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Green Plains will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

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.