Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Invests $20.20 Million in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 721,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,000. The GEO Group comprises about 1.8% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned 0.52% of The GEO Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT raised its stake 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. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth about $17,685,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,050,000 after purchasing an additional 411,565 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter worth about $7,398,000. Finally, Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,036,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,070. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GEO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

The GEO Group Stock Up 6.0 %

NYSE:GEO opened at $29.10 on Monday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.75 and a 1-year high of $36.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 100.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average of $25.55.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About The GEO Group

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.