Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $9.33 Million Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 333,286 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 12,645 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.24% of The GEO Group worth $9,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The 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 in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 375.2% in 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,522,360 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,596,000 after purchasing an additional 170,248 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,491,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,724,000 after acquiring an additional 82,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at $34,456,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

The GEO Group Price Performance

GEO traded down $0.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,550,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,725. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.75 and a 1-year high of $36.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.40.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The firm had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jones Trading lowered their price objective on The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised The GEO Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One 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, The GEO Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.00.

About The 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.