Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Up 9.3% – Should You Buy?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) shot up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.11 and last traded at $12.1810. 1,170,077 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 1,290,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Green Plains from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Green Plains has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $839.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.63.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 8.37% and a negative return on equity of 16.78%. Green Plains’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Green Plains by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Green Plains by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Green Plains by 15.0% in the second quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 11,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Green Plains by 19.0% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Green Plains by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 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.