The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $12.31, but opened at $13.01. The GEO Group shares last traded at $13.00, with a volume of 357,680 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Chairman George C. Zoley bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares in the company, valued at $46,447,046.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other The GEO Group news, Director Scott Michael Kernan sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.62, for a total transaction of $72,186.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,008.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,447,046.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GEO. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.29 and a 200 day moving average of $13.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GEO. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in The GEO Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 110,649 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after buying an additional 4,759 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 26.3% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 26,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 5,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in The GEO Group during the second quarter worth about $1,128,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.