The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $25.78, but opened at $24.22. The GEO Group shares last traded at $24.72, with a volume of 471,475 shares.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities upped their price objective on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Noble Financial downgraded The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in The GEO Group by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 350,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,819,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth about $560,000. Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 398.0% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 239,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,705,000 after buying an additional 191,510 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 420,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,773,000 after buying an additional 274,784 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The GEO Group Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.15.

The GEO Group Company Profile

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.