Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Trading Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) were down 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $14.08 and last traded at $13.9290. 201,820 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,512,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 1.17.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.29. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The company had revenue of $446.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Green Plains by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Green Plains by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Green Plains by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the second quarter worth about $27,000.

Green Plains Company Profile

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.