The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $21.50, but opened at $20.10. The GEO Group shares last traded at $22.82, with a volume of 3,184,707 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GEO. StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush increased their price target on The GEO Group from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.45 and a 200-day moving average of $14.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.63.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.33 per share, with a total value of $1,233,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 3,900,904 shares in the company, valued at $48,098,146.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 131.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,904,000 after buying an additional 590,099 shares during the period. Center Lake Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The GEO Group by 500.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Beaconlight Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The GEO Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,754,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 1,803.4% in the second 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. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the second quarter worth about $3,906,000. Hedge funds and other 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.