Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $33.17 and last traded at $32.42, with a volume of 1074949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.36.

Key Geo Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Geo Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GEO completed the $950 million sale of its three-facility Adelanto, California ICE processing-center complex, providing significant proceeds for debt reduction and shareholder returns. GEO Group Adelanto sale and buyback announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its share-repurchase authorization to $1.25 billion. A larger buyback could support earnings per share and provide a source of demand for GEO stock, assuming the company executes the program. GEO Group expands share buyback
• Positive Sentiment: GEO announced the redemption of all $650 million of senior secured notes due 2029 and amended and extended its revolving credit facility. Retiring debt may reduce interest costs and improve financial flexibility, while the revolver preserves liquidity. GEO Group debt redemption and credit facility update
• Positive Sentiment: JonesTrading reaffirmed its Buy rating and assigned a $40 price target, indicating substantial upside from the recent trading level. JonesTrading GEO Group rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The Adelanto transaction monetizes assets at an attractive price and supports capital returns, but investors may also focus on the loss of operating assets and related future revenue and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: After recently reaching a 52-week high, GEO may be experiencing profit-taking as investors reassess valuation and the longer-term earnings impact of selling the facilities. U.S. purchase of GEO Group California facilities

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GEO. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Geo Group Stock Down 7.5%

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Geo Group news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $224,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at $2,291,648. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $371,015.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,797 shares of company stock worth $911,916. 4.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Geo Group by 111.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Geo Group by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Geo Group by 687.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention and community-reentry services. The company designs, finances, develops and manages secure facilities for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as certain international government clients. Its facilities house individuals in pretrial detention, immigration detention and correctional programs.

GEO also provides correctional and behavioral healthcare, transportation and security services, and electronic monitoring technologies.