The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Thursday. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading decreased their price target on The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

The GEO Group Trading Down 3.5 %

GEO stock opened at $26.37 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The GEO Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.75 and a fifty-two week high of $36.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its 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 GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The GEO Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,398,000 after acquiring an additional 35,281 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in The GEO Group by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT increased its stake in The GEO Group by 375.2% during the 4th quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,400 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,522,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,596,000 after buying an additional 170,248 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,491,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,724,000 after buying an additional 82,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% 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.