First Trust Advisors LP Has $3.68 Million Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 31,031 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $3,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GEO. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in The GEO Group by 6,800.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Price Performance

GEO stock opened at $31.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.14, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.08. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced 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 business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

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.