The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Trading Down 3.3% – What’s Next?

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) traded down 3.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $28.91 and last traded at $29.93. 423,157 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,927,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities increased their price objective on shares of The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Noble Financial lowered shares of The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated 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 current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 94.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $603.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.69 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,314,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in The GEO Group by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in The GEO Group by 18.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $184,000. 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.