JonesTrading Issues Positive Forecast for Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Price

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at JonesTrading from $40.00 to $42.75 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JonesTrading‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 69.99% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on GEO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.38.

Geo Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GEO opened at $25.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.44. Geo Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $761.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Geo Group will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Geo Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Geo Group by 49.4% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 28,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 9,483 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Geo Group by 16.4% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 67,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 9,564 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc acquired a new position in shares of Geo Group during the third quarter worth about $427,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Geo Group by 165.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Geo Group by 181.2% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 104,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 67,298 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Geo Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: GEO reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share, above the $0.35 consensus and up from $0.25 a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.5% year over year. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast Q4 revenue of $777 million–$827 million and adjusted EBITDA of $149 million–$154 million, citing expanding ICE activations. That outlook points to continued demand supporting results. Q4 outlook and ICE activations
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 revenue of about $761.1 million missed the roughly $770.9 million analyst estimate. The earnings beat and year-over-year growth are favorable, but the revenue shortfall may temper the reaction. Q3 revenue estimate comparison
• Negative Sentiment: For-profit prison operators face political and contract-renewal uncertainty after Democrats’ midterm gains, which could weigh on expectations for future ICE-related business. This is a longer-term risk rather than a change to the reported quarter. Political risk for prison stocks

Geo Group Company Profile

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention and community-based services. The company develops and operates secure facilities for government agencies, offering services that can include facility management, housing, transportation, food services, medical care, education and rehabilitation programs.

GEO also provides reentry and community-based services designed to support individuals transitioning from incarceration. Through its electronic monitoring and supervision offerings, the company assists government and law-enforcement agencies with alternatives to secure detention, including GPS monitoring, case management and other post-release support services.

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