Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $10.02, but opened at $11.40. Green Plains shares last traded at $11.5390, with a volume of 643,100 shares.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.48. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Green Plains’s quarterly revenue was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 price target on Green Plains and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Roth Capital lowered Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Green Plains currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

Insider Activity at Green Plains

In other news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of Green Plains stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,051,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,610,000 after buying an additional 99,242 shares during the period. Broad Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Green Plains by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 2,566,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,446,000 after acquiring an additional 355,685 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,860,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,590,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,716,000 after purchasing an additional 189,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 201.2% in the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after buying an additional 926,553 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Up 5.1%

The stock has a market cap of $662.86 million, a PE ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.14 and a 200 day moving average of $7.61.

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.