Swiss National Bank Buys 8,500 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $7,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in The GEO Group by 149.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday. Finally, Noble Financial upgraded shares of The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.40.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $28.24 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.57 and its 200-day moving average is $23.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.75 and a 1-year high of $36.46. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.45 million. Equities research analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.