Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 35,281 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,281 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $85,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 182.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in The GEO Group by 6,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $27.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.75 and a 1-year high of $36.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.60% 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.