The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $25.78, but opened at $24.22. The GEO Group shares last traded at $24.72, with a volume of 471,475 shares.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Noble Financial downgraded shares of The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,400 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,676 shares during the period. Newbrook Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,738,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter valued at $34,456,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 1,501.6% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 788,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 739,550 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Up 6.4 %

The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 94.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.42 and a 200-day moving average of $22.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

The GEO Group Company Profile

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.