Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in Geo Group Inc by 53.9%, owning 127,483 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million.
• Since the fourth quarter, multiple hedge funds, including Cetera Investment Advisers and Two Sigma Investments LP, have dramatically boosted their holdings in Geo Group, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Geo Group recently reported earnings of $0.22 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a $300 million stock buyback plan, reflecting confidence in the company's valuation.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 53.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,483 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 44,649 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Geo Group worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Geo Group during the first quarter worth about $39,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Geo Group by 81.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Geo Group by 19.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,653 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH bought a new stake in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geo Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of GEO traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,685,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75. Geo Group Inc has a 1-year low of $12.29 and a 1-year high of $36.46.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Geo Group had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 3.69%.The business had revenue of $636.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $621.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEO has been the subject of several research reports. Jones Trading dropped their price target on Geo Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geo Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

Geo Group Company 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.