B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 74.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 150,100 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $1,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,398,000 after acquiring an additional 35,281 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 202.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,676 shares during the period. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,400 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,522,360 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,596,000 after acquiring an additional 170,248 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,491,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,724,000 after acquiring an additional 82,341 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The GEO Group stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.20. 3,179,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,883,427. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.40. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. 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 GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $604.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $611.81 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GEO. Wall Street Zen raised The GEO Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jones Trading reduced their target price on The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The GEO Group Profile

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.