Does The Street Have Green Plains Renewable Energy Figured Out?

Green Plains Renewable Energy (Nasdaq: GPRE  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings around Feb. 8. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Green Plains Renewable Energy's revenues will contract -12.6% and EPS will contract -72.2%.

The average estimate for revenue is $806.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.10.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Green Plains Renewable Energy booked revenue of $947.4 million. GAAP reported sales were 1.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $957.0 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at -$0.03. GAAP EPS were -$0.03 for Q3 against $0.32 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 2.9%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.9%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $3.40 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.55.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 83 members out of 136 rating the stock outperform, and 53 members rating it underperform. Among 40 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give Green Plains Renewable Energy a green thumbs-up, and 22 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Green Plains Renewable Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $6.43.

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