Two Sigma Securities LLC Purchases 44,937 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 181.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,937 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in The GEO Group by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 56,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 24,824 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of The GEO Group by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,548 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth about $20,197,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GEO shares. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The GEO Group Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $29.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.11, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.57 and its 200 day moving average is $26.38. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.