The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Rating Reiterated by Wedbush

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Wedbush in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 37.43% from the stock’s current price.

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

The GEO Group Trading Down 1.0 %

The GEO Group stock opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.97. The GEO Group has a 52 week low of $7.38 and a 52 week high of $18.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The GEO Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In related news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 $46,447,046.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total value of $43,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly 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 have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group in the second quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in The GEO Group in the second quarter worth about $153,000. 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.