Ballast Asset Management LP Sells 18,835 Shares of Geo Group Inc (The) $GEO

Ballast Asset Management LP cut its stake in shares of Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,865 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,835 shares during the period. Geo Group comprises approximately 2.4% of Ballast Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ballast Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.14% of Geo Group worth $5,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GEO. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Geo Group by 111.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Geo Group by 165.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Geo Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Geo Group in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Geo Group by 22.7% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GEO shares. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JonesTrading upped their price target on shares of Geo Group from $40.00 to $42.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Geo Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.38.

Insider Activity at Geo Group

In other Geo Group news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $224,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,614 shares in the company, valued at $2,291,648. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $371,015.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 87,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,797 shares of company stock worth $911,916 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Geo Group Stock Up 7.9%

NYSE GEO opened at $30.00 on Tuesday. Geo Group Inc has a 52 week low of $12.51 and a 52 week high of $33.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.55.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $761.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.87 million. Geo Group had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 10.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Geo Group Inc will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Geo Group Company Profile

The GEO Group, Inc provides government services focused on corrections, detention and community-based supervision. Its services include operating secure facilities and processing centers, managing community reentry programs, and providing electronic monitoring and supervision technology for individuals in the community.

The company serves federal, state and local government agencies, primarily in the United States. Its work also includes related services such as secure transportation and support programs for people transitioning from incarceration back into the community.

Founded in 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, the company adopted the GEO Group name in 2003.