Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 45,500 Shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,500 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $3,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,036,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of The GEO Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,177,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GEO shares. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The GEO Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

The GEO Group Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of The GEO Group stock opened at $29.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.56. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.91, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of The GEO Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

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.