The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Down 4.4% - What's Next?

Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) dropped 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $25.19 and last traded at $25.61. Approximately 1,439,139 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 2,866,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jones Trading dropped their price target on The GEO Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The GEO Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.00.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.22 and a 200-day moving average of $28.42.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The GEO Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,398,000 after acquiring an additional 35,281 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in The GEO Group by 312.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,608,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $76,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976,544 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in The GEO Group by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT lifted its stake 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 valued at $51,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in The GEO Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,554,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,405,000 after buying an additional 32,060 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.