The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 333,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,645 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.24% of The GEO Group worth $9,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in The GEO Group by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in The GEO Group by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in The GEO Group by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in The GEO Group by 6,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on GEO shares. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading dropped their price target on shares of The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of GEO stock opened at $27.13 on Wednesday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.59 and its 200-day moving average is $28.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.55, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.