Franklin Resources Inc. Invests $604,000 in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,574 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 182.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in The GEO Group by 6,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of GEO traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.68. 3,137,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,788,514. 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 price of $27.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

Insider Transactions at The GEO Group

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

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.