Northland Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Free Report) had its target price raised by Northland Securities from $16.00 to $37.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GEO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The GEO Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of The GEO Group from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

GEO stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.37. The stock had a trading volume of 8,123,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 97.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.63. The GEO Group has a 52-week low of $9.09 and a 52-week high of $25.88.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $607.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The GEO Group will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.33 per share, with a total value of $1,233,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 3,900,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,098,146.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEO. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 9.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,096 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1.1% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 100,735 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,703 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 106,826 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.