Informed Momentum Co LLC Takes $2.39 Million Position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)

Key Points

• Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired 81,650 shares of Geo Group Inc, valued at approximately $2.4 million, representing 0.06% ownership of the company.
• Geo Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.16, and had a revenue increase of 4.8% year-over-year to $636.17 million.
• The company approved a $300 million share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 8.2% of its outstanding shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Informed Momentum Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 81,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,385,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Geo Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Geo Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $604,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Geo Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 106,488 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,980,000 after buying an additional 15,663 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Geo Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 388,523 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,871,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,398,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Geo Group Price Performance

NYSE:GEO traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.95. 2,601,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,911,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $24.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.64. Geo Group Inc has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.75.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. Geo Group had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The company had revenue of $636.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $621.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Geo Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GEO. Jones Trading cut their price target on shares of Geo Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

About 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.