The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 659,453 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 19,060 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of The GEO Group worth $18,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in The GEO Group by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in The GEO Group by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 22,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of GEO stock opened at $25.65 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.03. The GEO Group, Inc. has a one year low of $11.50 and a one year high of $36.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities lifted their target price on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Noble Financial cut The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

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.