The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.46 and last traded at $34.54, with a volume of 1258642 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GEO shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Noble Financial downgraded The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,050,000 after buying an additional 411,565 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. RoundAngle Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $806,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 201,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.