Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Holdings in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its position in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 27,766 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in The GEO Group were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GEO. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in The GEO Group by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in The GEO Group by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,023 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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The GEO Group Price Performance

The GEO Group stock traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.10. 2,384,069 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,783,283. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month high of $36.46. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.33, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.46. 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 (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 GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.45 million. Equities analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.