Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Trading Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) shares traded down 4.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $30.44 and last traded at $30.28. 796,912 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,123,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Geo Group Trading Down 1.5%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Geo Group had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $721.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Geo Group news, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $371,015.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $224,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,648. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,797 shares of company stock valued at $911,916 over the last three months. 4.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Geo Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 111.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Geo Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Geo Group during the second quarter worth $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 22.7% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE:GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention, reentry and community-based services. The company designs, develops, finances and manages secure facilities for government agencies, including correctional institutions, immigration detention centers and other custodial facilities.

GEO also provides electronic monitoring and community supervision services, including location monitoring, case management and related technologies. Through its reentry services, the company operates residential centers and programs intended to support individuals transitioning from incarceration to community living, employment and other post-release services.

Founded in 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, the company adopted the name The GEO Group in 2003.