Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.87 and a 200-day moving average of $13.99. The GEO Group has a one year low of $7.38 and a one year high of $18.05.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The GEO Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other The GEO Group news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,447,046.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total value of $43,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEO. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 399.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group in the second quarter valued at $140,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in The GEO Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About The GEO Group

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.