Sciencast Management LP Buys New Stake in Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired a new stake in Geo Group Inc by purchasing 16,745 shares valued at approximately $489,000 during the first quarter.
• Geo Group's board has authorized a $300 million share buyback program, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.22 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.16, with a revenue of $636.17 million for the quarter.

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,745 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Geo Group in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Geo Group by 81.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Geo Group in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Geo Group by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,653 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Geo Group by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 6,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geo Group Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE GEO traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.08. 2,061,747 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,617,252. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.72. Geo Group Inc has a one year low of $12.29 and a one year high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.75.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The firm had revenue of $636.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $621.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geo Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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, August 7th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.