Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) fell 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $30.44 and last traded at $30.28. 796,912 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 2,123,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Geo Group Trading Down 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.11.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $721.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Geo Group

In other news, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $2,755,082.90. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,291,648. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,797 shares of company stock valued at $911,916. Corporate insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geo Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 2nd quarter worth $570,744,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $312,698,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC raised its stake in Geo Group by 14.2% in the first quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 5,314,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,328,000 after buying an additional 661,281 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Geo Group in the second quarter valued at about $118,673,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Geo Group by 7.3% in the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,743,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,923,000 after acquiring an additional 256,265 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE:GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention, reentry and community-based services. The company designs, develops, finances and manages secure facilities for government agencies, including correctional institutions, immigration detention centers and other custodial facilities.

GEO also provides electronic monitoring and community supervision services, including location monitoring, case management and related technologies. Through its reentry services, the company operates residential centers and programs intended to support individuals transitioning from incarceration to community living, employment and other post-release services.

Founded in 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, the company adopted the name The GEO Group in 2003.