The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Sets New 12-Month High at $16.31

Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $16.31 and last traded at $16.17, with a volume of 661655 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wedbush dropped their target price on The GEO Group from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th.

The GEO Group Stock Up 1.8 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.08. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Michael Kernan sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.62, for a total value of $72,186.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,008.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 63,101 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 4,448,385 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,575,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,021,000 after purchasing an additional 58,184 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,161,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $662,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.