406,552 Shares in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP has made a new investment in Geo Group Inc., acquiring approximately $11.88 million for 406,552 shares, making it the firm's 26th largest holding.
• Geo Group announced a $300 million stock buyback program, indicating the board believes the company's shares are undervalued.
• The company's stock currently is rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $38.00.

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 406,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,875,000. Geo Group makes up 0.8% of CenterBook Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. CenterBook Partners LP owned approximately 0.29% of Geo Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $10,650,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $604,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $647,000. AGP Franklin LLC bought a new position in shares of Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $555,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jones Trading dropped their target price 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. 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 restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Geo Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Geo Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GEO traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.32. 5,013,659 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,461,559. Geo Group Inc has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.04 and a 200 day moving average of $27.07.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $636.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $621.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.