Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GPRE. Stephens boosted their price objective on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Green Plains Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GPRE opened at $15.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -47.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.79 and its 200 day moving average is $14.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.71. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $6.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.94.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.43. The business had revenue of $445.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 0.80% and a positive return on equity of 2.86%. The business’s revenue was down 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.14) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Green Plains will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $3,351,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 825.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 436,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,275,000 after buying an additional 389,102 shares in the last quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP boosted its position in Green Plains by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,291,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,355,000 after buying an additional 211,303 shares during the period. Kailix Advisors LLC boosted its position in Green Plains by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Kailix Advisors LLC now owns 1,369,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,418,000 after buying an additional 213,888 shares during the period. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in Green Plains in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,978,000.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc is a leading producer of fuel-grade ethanol and related co-products in the United States. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates an integrated network of biorefineries that convert corn and other grains into renewable fuels. Through its production facilities, Green Plains supplies ethanol to domestic fuel markets and export channels, supporting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner-burning transportation options.

Beyond ethanol, Green Plains manufactures a range of co-products that add value throughout the agricultural supply chain.