The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on GEO. Noble Financial upgraded The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $32.00 price target on The GEO Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday.

The GEO Group Price Performance

GEO opened at $29.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 100.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.50. The GEO Group has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The firm had revenue of $607.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. Research analysts anticipate that The GEO Group will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The GEO Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,279,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 91.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in The GEO Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 273,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,517,000 after buying an additional 46,905 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Company 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.