Highland Peak Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)

Key Points

• Highland Peak Capital LLC made a new investment in Geo Group Inc, purchasing 364,608 shares valued at approximately $10.65 million, making it the firm's fifth largest holding.
• Geo Group's stock recently dropped 11.6% during trading, with a current value of $22.85 per share, after experiencing a trading volume significantly higher than its average.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a $300 million share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 364,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $10,650,000. Geo Group comprises 7.8% of Highland Peak Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Highland Peak Capital LLC owned 0.26% of Geo Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Geo Group by 1.2% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 35,281 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Geo Group by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 12.6% during the 4th 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. Newbrook Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 4th quarter worth about $35,738,000. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,456,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jones Trading cut their price objective on Geo Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

Geo Group Stock Down 6.0%

Shares of GEO traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.52. The company had a trading volume of 8,066,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,149,080. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.16. Geo Group Inc has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 3.69%. The business had revenue of $636.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $621.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Geo Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.