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

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Wedbush in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s target price indicates a potential upside of 35.89% from the stock’s previous close.

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

The GEO Group Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:GEO opened at $12.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The GEO Group has a twelve month low of $7.33 and a twelve month high of $18.05. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.99.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The GEO Group will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.33 per share, with a total value of $1,233,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 3,900,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,098,146.32. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,900,904 shares in the company, valued at $48,098,146.32. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,143,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in The GEO Group by 399.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the second quarter valued at about $140,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in The GEO Group during the second quarter worth about $153,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.