The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) Price Target Raised to $30.00 at Wedbush

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) had its price target lifted by Wedbush from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for The GEO Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.20 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.21 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

NYSE GEO traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $25.36. 8,126,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,187. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.45 and a 200-day moving average of $14.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.63. The GEO Group has a 52 week low of $9.09 and a 52 week high of $25.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The company had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,900,904 shares in the company, valued at $48,098,146.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,114,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,008,000 after buying an additional 49,134 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 131.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,904,000 after acquiring an additional 590,099 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,429,000 after acquiring an additional 22,969 shares in the last quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 500.0% in the first quarter. Center Lake Capital Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,472,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Finally, Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new stake in The GEO Group in the first quarter valued at $5,754,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

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.