Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GPRE. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Green Plains from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on Green Plains from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TheStreet lowered Green Plains from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Green Plains from $33.50 to $31.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Green Plains Trading Up 1.6 %

Green Plains stock opened at $19.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.92 and a beta of 1.62. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $18.75 and a fifty-two week high of $36.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.75.

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

Insider Activity at Green Plains

In related news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.73 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 worth $76,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Green Plains in the fourth quarter worth $196,000.

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.