National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 12,560 Shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Geo Group Inc by 1.2% in the first quarter, owning 1,076,070 shares valued at approximately $31.43 million.
• Geo Group recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.22, surpassing estimates, and announced a share buyback program allowing up to $300 million in repurchases.
• Analysts have varying ratings on the stock, with Jones Trading lowering the target price to $45 yet retaining a "buy" rating, while the average price target stands at $37.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,076,070 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,560 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.76% of Geo Group worth $31,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at about $11,875,000. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at about $10,650,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at about $604,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at about $647,000. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC acquired a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Geo Group Price Performance

Shares of GEO opened at $21.32 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.02. Geo Group Inc has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $36.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $621.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Geo Group's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geo Group declared that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jones Trading cut their target price on 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 raised Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Geo Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

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.

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