Barclays PLC Grows Position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,343 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.16% of The GEO Group worth $6,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GEO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 91.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the fourth quarter worth $806,000. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $4,837,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth about $2,068,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity

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

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of GEO traded down $0.24 on Monday, reaching $30.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,589,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,246. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $27.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.62, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. Research analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The GEO Group 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.