Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $237,000 Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,230,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 11,531 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at $662,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 162.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 105,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 65,288 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of GEO stock opened at $14.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The GEO Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.94 and a twelve month high of $16.31. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.60.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $608.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.47 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 4.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wedbush boosted their price target on The GEO Group from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th.

The GEO Group Profile

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) engages in ownership, leasing, and management of secure facilities, processing centers, and community-based reentry facilities in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The company also provides secure facility management services, including the provision of security, administrative, rehabilitation, education, and food services; reentry services, such as temporary housing, programming, employment assistance, and other services; electronic monitoring and supervision services; and transportation services; as well as designs, constructs, and finances new facilities through projects.