The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Wedbush in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

GEO opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The GEO Group has a 1-year low of $7.38 and a 1-year high of $18.05.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The GEO Group will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total value of $43,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GEO. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 399.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group during the second quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the second quarter worth about $153,000. 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.