The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.43, but opened at $13.66. The GEO Group shares last traded at $13.35, with a volume of 874,695 shares traded.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $605.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $603.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of The GEO Group from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $37,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $450,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $127,000. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 24,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $577,000. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.59.

About The GEO Group

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.