Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,720,000 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the March 31st total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Green Plains Price Performance

GPRE stock opened at $20.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $19.44 and a 12 month high of $36.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.42 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.58.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.04). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 2.83% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $712.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GPRE. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Green Plains from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet lowered shares of Green Plains from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Green Plains from $33.50 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.73 per share, with a total value of $98,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,011,778.49. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,000.

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.