Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Price Down 7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) fell 7% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $30.45 and last traded at $30.08. 1,191,534 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,169,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.34.

More Geo Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: $950 million Adelanto facility sale: GEO completed the sale of three California ICE processing facilities totaling 2,644 beds to the U.S. government. The transaction monetizes the properties at a substantial value and provides cash that can be directed toward debt reduction and shareholder returns. GEO Adelanto facility sale announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded share repurchase authorization: GEO increased its share buyback authorization to $1.25 billion. Repurchases could reduce the share count and support earnings per share, although the timing and amount of actual purchases remain uncertain. GEO expands share buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Debt refinancing and repayment: GEO delivered notice to redeem all of its senior secured notes due 2029, reportedly totaling approximately $650 million, and amended and extended its revolving credit facility. Retiring the notes could reduce interest expense and refinancing risk, while the revised credit facility preserves liquidity for operations and capital allocation. GEO debt redemption and credit facility announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio implications: Selling Adelanto provides significant liquidity but also removes three operating facilities from GEO’s portfolio, potentially reducing future facility-related revenue and cash flow. The stock’s movement toward its 52-week high indicates investors are currently placing greater weight on the sale proceeds, buyback potential and balance-sheet improvement. GEO sells three facilities to ICE

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GEO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Friday, September 4th. JonesTrading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Geo Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Geo Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.37. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last released 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 business had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $721.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $224,000.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $371,015.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,797 shares of company stock worth $911,916 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Geo Group by 111.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Geo Group during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings 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 worth $65,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Geo Group by 687.8% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 11,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Geo Group in the second quarter worth about $229,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.