Pentwater Capital Management LP Makes New $312.70 Million Investment in Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO

Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,582,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $312,698,000. Geo Group makes up about 1.9% of Pentwater Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pentwater Capital Management LP owned 0.08% of Geo Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Geo Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Geo Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Geo Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Geo Group by 245.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 10,000 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.69, for a total value of $316,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 99,399 shares in the company, valued at $3,149,954.31. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Geo Group Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $32.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.79. Geo Group Inc has a 1 year low of $12.51 and a 1 year high of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $721.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Geo Group Inc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Geo Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Geo Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) is a leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services to government agencies around the world. As a real estate investment trust, the company specializes in the design, financing, development and operation of secure facilities for adult and juvenile offenders, immigration detainees and individuals requiring mental health treatment or substance abuse programming. GEO’s integrated service model also encompasses electronic monitoring, rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety.

GEO’s portfolio spans a range of facility types, including medium- and maximum-security correctional institutions, residential reentry centers, mental health treatment units and immigration detention centers.