Park West Asset Management LLC Takes $22.46 Million Position in Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO

Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 760,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $22,461,000. Geo Group makes up approximately 1.5% of Park West Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Park West Asset Management LLC owned 0.58% of Geo Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Geo Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 75,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after buying an additional 3,309 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 81.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Geo Group during the first quarter worth $260,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Geo Group by 168.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 284,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,324,000 after purchasing an additional 178,622 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Geo Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,308,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,346,000 after purchasing an additional 52,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Matthew Albence sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.69, for a total transaction of $316,900.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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. Insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GEO. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JonesTrading upped their price objective on shares of Geo Group from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Geo Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GEO opened at $32.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Geo Group Inc has a 1-year low of $12.51 and a 1-year high of $33.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.55 and a 200 day moving average of $23.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $721.43 million. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Geo Group Inc 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.