Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) Stock Price Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO)’s share price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.81 and last traded at $17.01. 413,050 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,403,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GEO. Zacks Research upgraded Geo Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JonesTrading cut their price target on shares of Geo Group from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Geo Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.67.

Geo Group Stock Down 2.1%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.68 and a 200-day moving average of $17.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.77.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Geo Group had a return on equity of 8.36% and a net margin of 9.67%.The firm had revenue of $707.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Geo Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.170-0.190 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 0.990-1.070 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Geo Group Inc will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Geo Group news, Director Scott Michael Kernan sold 6,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total transaction of $101,086.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,424.88. This represents a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Geo Group by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Geo Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Geo Group by 81.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Geo Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Geo Group during the third quarter worth about $61,000. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.