Wells Fargo & Company MN Buys 15,663 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,488 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 15,663 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.08% of The GEO Group worth $2,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GEO. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT boosted its position in The GEO Group by 375.2% during 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,685,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,036,000. Finally, Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,837,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Trading Up 4.2 %

GEO stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,341,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,812,841. 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 GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.90, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 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 $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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