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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GEO. Zacks Research raised Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised 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 assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Geo Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Geo Group Trading Up 1.3%

The firm has a market cap 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $28.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Institutional Trading of Geo Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Geo Group by 245.1% during 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Geo Group by 111.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Geo Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Geo Group in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geo Group during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.