Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,806,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 80,932 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.59% of The GEO Group worth $414,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on GEO shares. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com lowered The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of The GEO Group stock opened at $29.51 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.76, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.59.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. Analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

The GEO Group Profile

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.