Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $32.48 and last traded at $31.8770, with a volume of 12731 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Geo Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Geo Group Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $705.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.89 million. Geo Group had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 9.43%. Geo Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Geo Group Inc will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its position in Geo Group by 14.2% during the first quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 5,314,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,328,000 after purchasing an additional 661,281 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Geo Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,894,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $240,106,000 after purchasing an additional 98,742 shares in the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Geo Group in the first quarter worth about $3,634,000. Kore Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 16.2% during the first quarter. Kore Advisors LP now owns 975,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,400,000 after buying an additional 136,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,743,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,923,000 after buying an additional 256,265 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Geo Group Company Profile

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) is a leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services to government agencies around the world. As a real estate investment trust, the company specializes in the design, financing, development and operation of secure facilities for adult and juvenile offenders, immigration detainees and individuals requiring mental health treatment or substance abuse programming. GEO’s integrated service model also encompasses electronic monitoring, rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety.

GEO’s portfolio spans a range of facility types, including medium- and maximum-security correctional institutions, residential reentry centers, mental health treatment units and immigration detention centers.