Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of GEO opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.00. The GEO Group has a fifty-two week low of $7.38 and a fifty-two week high of $18.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that The GEO Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $43,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1,116.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,846,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,385 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 131.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,904,000 after purchasing an additional 590,099 shares during the last quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 500.0% in the 1st quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,472,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 1st quarter worth about $5,754,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1,803.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 312,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,488,000 after purchasing an additional 296,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About The GEO Group

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.