Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO Stock: ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stake

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) by 52.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,038 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Geo Group were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GEO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Geo Group in the second quarter worth about $570,744,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $312,698,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Geo Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $118,673,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Geo Group by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,895,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Geo Group during the second quarter valued at about $23,825,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geo Group Stock Performance

GEO opened at $30.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Geo Group Inc has a 12-month low of $12.51 and a 12-month high of $33.17.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $761.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.87 million. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Geo Group Inc will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JonesTrading increased their price objective on shares of Geo Group from $40.00 to $42.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Geo Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of Geo Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at $2,291,648. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $371,015.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,797 shares of company stock worth $911,916 over the last three months. 4.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Geo Group Company Profile

The GEO Group, Inc provides government services focused on corrections, detention and community-based supervision. Its services include operating secure facilities and processing centers, managing community reentry programs, and providing electronic monitoring and supervision technology for individuals in the community.

The company serves federal, state and local government agencies, primarily in the United States. Its work also includes related services such as secure transportation and support programs for people transitioning from incarceration back into the community.

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