Mariner LLC Takes Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 228,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,402,000 after buying an additional 12,343 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 32,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in The GEO Group by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 77,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 32,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,994,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GEO shares. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Stock Down 9.4 %

GEO stock opened at $27.51 on Thursday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 94.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $604.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Company 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.