Saba Capital Management L.P. Reduces Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Saba Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,414 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 297,897 shares during the period. Saba Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.05% of The GEO Group worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GEO. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 374.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 170,839 shares during the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth $806,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,050,000 after acquiring an additional 411,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GEO shares. Jones Trading reduced their price objective on shares of The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised The GEO Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The GEO Group stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.11. 1,053,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,866,766. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.42, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.15. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.