Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.23 Million Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 640,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,203 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $8,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 49,134 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 5,645 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in The GEO Group by 4.8% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 46,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in The GEO Group during the second quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 5.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 403,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,790,000 after buying an additional 19,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Northland Securities boosted their target price on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Noble Financial cut shares of The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

The GEO Group Trading Up 1.6 %

GEO stock opened at $27.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The GEO Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.46 and a twelve month high of $29.86. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.49, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.73 and a 200-day moving average of $17.70.

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.