The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on GEO. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Price Performance

NYSE GEO opened at $29.51 on Tuesday. The GEO Group has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. 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 GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. On average, research analysts forecast that The GEO Group will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 at this link. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEO. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 13,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.