Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by equities researchers at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $24.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.57% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Green Plains from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Green Plains from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Green Plains from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Green Plains Stock Up 1.6 %

GPRE stock opened at $19.58 on Tuesday. Green Plains has a 1-year low of $18.75 and a 1-year high of $36.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.92 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.52 and its 200 day moving average is $23.28.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.48). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 7.86% and a negative net margin of 2.43%. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.20) EPS. Green Plains’s quarterly revenue was down 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Green Plains will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Green Plains

In other Green Plains news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.73 per share, for a total transaction of $98,920.00. Following the purchase, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth about $1,162,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the third quarter worth $848,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the 3rd quarter worth $4,475,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Green Plains by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 761,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $22,922,000 after acquiring an additional 23,923 shares during the period.

About Green Plains

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.