Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at JonesTrading

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at JonesTrading in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $40.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JonesTrading’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 33.74% from the company’s previous close.

GEO has been the topic of several other reports. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Geo Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

Geo Group Stock Down 7.5%

Shares of GEO stock traded down $2.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.91. 4,960,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,191,227. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77. Geo Group has a 52 week low of $12.51 and a 52 week high of $33.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $732.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $721.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Geo Group will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Geo Group

In other Geo Group news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $224,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,291,648. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $371,015.65. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,082.90. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 28,797 shares of company stock worth $911,916 over the last ninety days. 4.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 111.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Geo Group by 22.7% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Geo Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Geo Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: $950 million Adelanto sale completed: GEO sold three California ICE facilities—Adelanto West, Adelanto East and Desert View Annex—with a combined capacity of 2,644 beds to the U.S. government and its assigns. The transaction provides substantial cash proceeds and reduces GEO’s direct ownership of those facilities. GEO Adelanto sale and repurchase authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Buyback authorization increased to $1.25 billion: GEO plans to use greater financial flexibility from the Adelanto transaction to support share repurchases. Buybacks could reduce the share count and increase per-share value if executed at attractive prices. GEO expands share buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Debt and liquidity actions: GEO announced the redemption of all $650 million of senior secured notes due 2029 and amended and extended its revolving credit facility. The changes may improve balance-sheet flexibility and support the enlarged repurchase program. GEO debt redemption and credit facility update
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish: JonesTrading reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and set a $40 price target, implying approximately 32.6% upside from the referenced share price. JonesTrading GEO rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Key investor trade-off: The transaction monetizes valuable real estate and creates capital-return capacity, but selling three facilities also removes associated assets and potential operating revenue. The stock’s pullback from its recent high suggests investors may be reassessing that trade-off.

Geo Group Company Profile

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention and community-reentry services. The company designs, finances, develops and manages secure facilities for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as certain international government clients. Its facilities house individuals in pretrial detention, immigration detention and correctional programs.

GEO also provides correctional and behavioral healthcare, transportation and security services, and electronic monitoring technologies.