Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 205,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 89,723 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.15% of The GEO Group worth $5,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT lifted its position in The GEO Group by 375.2% in the 4th quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,469,000 after buying an additional 1,452,400 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at $20,197,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth $17,685,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in The GEO Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,050,000 after buying an additional 411,565 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,398,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

The GEO Group Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of GEO traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.26. The company had a trading volume of 6,303,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,839,446. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $36.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.35, a P/E/G 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 GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GEO. Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jones Trading reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

The GEO Group 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.