Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 28.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GEO. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in The GEO Group in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in The GEO Group by 182.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Trading Down 7.0%

Shares of GEO stock opened at $24.65 on Friday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.75 and a fifty-two week high of $36.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.01, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.34. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GEO. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading cut their price target on shares of The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The GEO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Company 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.