The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)’s share price rose 6.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $15.19 and last traded at $15.16. Approximately 790,386 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 2,431,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on GEO. StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

The GEO Group Price 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.04.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.33 per share, with a total value of $1,233,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,900,904 shares in the company, valued at $48,098,146.32. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in The GEO Group by 568.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 9,632 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in The GEO Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 11.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 247,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 25,441 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 106,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the first quarter worth $214,000. 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.