The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Up to $13.51

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.51, but opened at $14.27. The GEO Group shares last traded at $14.09, with a volume of 970,322 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of The GEO Group from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.64.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $605.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $603.84 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 4.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $37,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $37,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,450. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Michael Kernan sold 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.62, for a total transaction of $72,186.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,936 shares in the company, valued at $326,008.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,012,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after acquiring an additional 63,101 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 1,116.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,846,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448,385 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,161,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $662,000. Finally, Center Lake Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.