Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jones Trading lowered their price target on shares of Geo Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Geo Group Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $17.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.89. Geo Group has a 52-week low of $13.59 and a 52-week high of $36.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $565.42 million for the quarter. Geo Group had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 7.26%. Geo Group has set its FY22 guidance at $2.40-2.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Geo Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geo Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geo Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Geo Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $965,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Geo Group by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 7,800 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $349,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.