Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $25.32, but opened at $27.14. Geo Group shares last traded at $26.62, with a volume of 1,252,019 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GEO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jones Trading lowered their target price on Geo Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.00.

Geo Group Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.23, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.38 and a 200 day moving average of $27.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Geo Group had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 1.19%. The company had revenue of $604.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Geo Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Geo Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Geo Group by 149.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Geo Group by 182.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Geo Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Geo Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,994,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.