The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Trading 8.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) traded up 8.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.67 and last traded at $25.66. 2,495,887 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 2,728,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GEO. UBS Group set a $32.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Noble Financial upgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.98 and a 200-day moving average of $22.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEO. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 9.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its position in The GEO Group by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 12,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $604,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 12.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 20,962 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its position in The GEO Group by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 22,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.