The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Trading Up 6.9% - Time to Buy?

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.19 and last traded at $15.16. 790,386 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 2,431,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

The GEO Group Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.02). The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,222,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,447,046.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,703 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in The GEO Group during the first quarter worth approximately $510,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in The GEO Group by 1,803.4% in 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 352.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 100,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 78,225 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of The GEO Group by 568.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 9,632 shares during 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.