Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Takes Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 91,509 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The GEO Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,575,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,021,000 after purchasing an additional 58,184 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 1,116.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,846,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,114,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,008,000 after buying an additional 49,134 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 131.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,904,000 after purchasing an additional 590,099 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,429,000 after purchasing an additional 22,969 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The GEO Group news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,447,046.88. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GEO shares. StockNews.com lowered The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The GEO Group stock opened at $13.92 on Friday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.19 and a 12 month high of $18.05. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 53.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.65.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 earnings per share 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.