Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Cuts Stake in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,840 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in The GEO Group were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,919,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,213,000 after purchasing an additional 66,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,051,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,398,000 after buying an additional 35,281 shares during the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 1,839,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,469,000 after buying an additional 1,452,400 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,491,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,724,000 after buying an additional 82,341 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,050,000 after acquiring an additional 411,565 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of GEO stock opened at $26.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.87, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average of $25.10. The GEO Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.75 and a 52 week high of $36.46. 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 (NYSE:GEO) last announced 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 net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. As a group, research analysts expect that The GEO Group, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GEO shares. StockNews.com cut The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.60% 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.