The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Noble Financial raised The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.40.

The GEO Group Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $28.24 on Thursday. The GEO Group has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $36.46. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $28.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 97.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the third quarter valued at $1,279,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 273,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 46,905 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $609,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently 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.