The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Trading Down 5.3% - Time to Sell?

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.59 and last traded at $13.68. 1,125,693 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 2,418,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GEO shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Trading Down 1.9 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.63. 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 GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,900,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,098,146.32. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in The GEO Group by 131.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,904,000 after purchasing an additional 590,099 shares in the last quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The GEO Group by 500.0% in the 1st quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,472,000 after buying an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the first quarter worth $5,754,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 1,803.4% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 312,508 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,488,000 after acquiring an additional 296,090 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the second quarter valued at $3,906,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

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.