Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were up 6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.94 and last traded at $17.4960. Approximately 621,151 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 1,573,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Green Plains from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $7.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens upgraded Green Plains from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.03, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,025,000 after acquiring an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Green Plains by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,629,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,772,000 after purchasing an additional 85,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,187,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,237 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,873,000 after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,686,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,525,000 after purchasing an additional 712,337 shares during the last quarter.

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.