SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 33,045 Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 33,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 375.2% during the fourth quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,400 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares in the last quarter. Newbrook Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,738,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group in the fourth quarter worth about $34,456,000. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group in the fourth quarter worth about $20,197,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEO has been the topic of several research reports. Jones Trading decreased their price target on shares of Geo Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Geo Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.00.

Geo Group Trading Down 3.8%

Geo Group stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.24. 5,228,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,921,542. Geo Group Inc has a fifty-two week low of $11.75 and a fifty-two week high of $36.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.34, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released 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). Geo Group had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 1.19%. The firm had revenue of $604.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

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.