Analysts Set Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) PT at $37.40

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.40.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet downgraded Green Plains from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Green Plains from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Green Plains from $33.50 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

Green Plains Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ GPRE opened at $21.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -12.95 and a beta of 1.60. Green Plains has a one year low of $19.44 and a one year high of $36.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.04). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 9.67% and a negative net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $712.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.66) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Green Plains news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.73 per share, with a total value of $98,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,778.49. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Green Plains by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 127,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after buying an additional 34,787 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,564 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 9,066 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Green Plains by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 148,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Green Plains by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 46,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Green Plains by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,978,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $278,410,000 after purchasing an additional 82,288 shares in the last quarter.

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.