The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Noble Financial raised shares of The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.40.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of GEO opened at $28.24 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 97.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.67. The GEO Group has a twelve month low of $11.75 and a twelve month high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.45 million. As a group, research analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,919,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,213,000 after acquiring an additional 66,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in The GEO Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,398,000 after purchasing an additional 35,281 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares during the period. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 375.2% during the 4th quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,400 shares during the period. Finally, Philosophy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The GEO Group by 17.1% during the third quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,644,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,125,000 after buying an additional 240,251 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.