Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several research firms have commented on GEO. Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JonesTrading boosted their price objective on shares of Geo Group from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Geo Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Matthew Albence sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.69, for a total value of $316,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 99,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,149,954.31. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $224,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,291,648. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Geo Group by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Geo Group by 22.7% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Geo Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Geo Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Geo Group by 245.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geo Group Trading Up 1.2%

GEO opened at $30.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78. Geo Group has a 12 month low of $12.51 and a 12 month high of $33.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.78.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Geo Group had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $721.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Geo Group will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) is a leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services to government agencies around the world. As a real estate investment trust, the company specializes in the design, financing, development and operation of secure facilities for adult and juvenile offenders, immigration detainees and individuals requiring mental health treatment or substance abuse programming. GEO’s integrated service model also encompasses electronic monitoring, rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety.

GEO’s portfolio spans a range of facility types, including medium- and maximum-security correctional institutions, residential reentry centers, mental health treatment units and immigration detention centers.