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 dissappointing 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $605.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.84 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 4.72%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $450,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $127,000. Versor Investments LP raised its position in The GEO Group by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 24,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the third quarter worth $577,000. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the third quarter worth $109,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.