Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Down 6.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Geo Group's shares fell by 6.9% during mid-day trading, closing at $20.14 after trading as low as $20.26, with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Geo Group, with four analysts rating it as "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.
• The company has authorized a $300 million share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock value despite recent declines.

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) shares traded down 6.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.26 and last traded at $20.14. 1,718,025 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 2,992,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GEO. Jones Trading reduced their price objective on 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Geo Group Stock Down 7.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.35.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Geo Group had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 3.69%.The company had revenue of $636.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $621.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geo Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 6th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Geo Group by 245.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Geo Group in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Geo Group by 81.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Geo Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Geo Group by 19.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,653 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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