The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Shares Sold by Ballast Asset Management LP

Ballast Asset Management LP decreased its stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 46.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 172,938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 147,428 shares during the period. The GEO Group comprises 2.5% of Ballast Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ballast Asset Management LP’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $4,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 182.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in The GEO Group by 6,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GEO. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The GEO Group Price Performance

GEO stock opened at $29.28 on Tuesday. The GEO Group, Inc. has a one year low of $11.75 and a one year high of $36.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 100.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, analysts forecast that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.