Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 45,500 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,500 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of The GEO Group worth $3,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The GEO Group by 149.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on GEO shares. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Stock Up 2.2 %

GEO stock opened at $29.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 102.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The GEO Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.75 and a twelve month high of $36.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.98 and its 200-day moving average is $24.56.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $607.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Sell-side analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.