Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 35,281 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 35,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.18% of The GEO Group worth $85,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,919,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $63,213,000 after buying an additional 66,658 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in The GEO Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,491,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,724,000 after purchasing an additional 82,341 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in The GEO Group by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,050,000 after purchasing an additional 411,565 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,451,000 after purchasing an additional 19,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $17,685,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The GEO Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of The GEO Group stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.92. 177,752 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,777,571. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. Equities analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

The 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.