Marshall Wace LLP Invests $234,000 in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GEO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in The GEO Group by 1,116.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,846,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,385 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in The GEO Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,575,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,021,000 after purchasing an additional 58,184 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth about $3,161,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of The GEO Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The GEO Group

In related news, Chairman George C. Zoley purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,447,046.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The GEO Group news, Chairman George C. Zoley bought 100,000 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.22 per share, with a total value of $1,222,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 3,800,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,447,046.88. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $43,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,275. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $13.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.10 and a 200-day moving average of $14.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 53.54, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.65. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.19 and a 12 month high of $18.05.

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 company had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 8.87%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GEO. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

The GEO Group 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.