Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Buys Shares of 12,000 The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in The GEO Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in The GEO Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 13,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were 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 owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GEO. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jones Trading reduced their price objective on shares of The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $24.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 85.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.76. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $36.46. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $27.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.31.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $604.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.81 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS 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.