River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,976,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $32,230,000. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 2.36% of The GEO Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 320.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 118,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 90,369 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $577,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,949,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,125,000 after acquiring an additional 40,079 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in The GEO Group during the third quarter valued at $11,113,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO traded down $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.99. 3,215,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,145. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.11 and a 200 day moving average of $11.11. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.94 and a 52-week high of $16.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $608.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $597.47 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 4.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 1.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $37,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,450. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wedbush increased their price objective on The GEO Group from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th.

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.