Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Down 9.3% – Time to Sell?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s share price traded down 9.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.64 and last traded at $14.4750. 105,461 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,538,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Green Plains from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stephens upgraded Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.29.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.31.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $428.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.56 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 8.70% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.86) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter valued at $61,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $67,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter valued at $98,000.

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.