Geo Group's (GEO) Hold (C) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed Geo Group's stock rating as a "hold (c)," indicating a cautious outlook for investors.
• Geo Group has announced a $300 million share buyback plan, reflecting the board's belief that the stock may be undervalued.
• Despite recent performance, including an earnings beat and increased revenue, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $37.00.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GEO. Jones Trading dropped their target price on shares of Geo Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geo Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

Geo Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $18.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.41 and a 200 day moving average of $25.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.75. Geo Group has a 12 month low of $13.36 and a 12 month high of $36.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $636.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $621.55 million. Geo Group had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 7.26%. Geo Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Geo Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geo Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Geo Group during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Geo Group by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Geo Group during the 1st quarter valued at $965,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Geo Group by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Geo Group during the 1st quarter valued at $438,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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