Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 506.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 71,529 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.06% of The GEO Group worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GEO. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 374.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 170,839 shares in the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,050,000 after buying an additional 411,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

The GEO Group Price Performance

NYSE:GEO opened at $26.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.91, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GEO shares. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jones Trading dropped their price target on The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised The GEO Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.00.

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.

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