The GEO Group Inc (NYSE:GEO) – Stock analysts at SunTrust Banks lifted their Q2 2019 earnings estimates for The GEO Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 30th. SunTrust Banks analyst T. Sommer now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will earn $0.66 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.48. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for The GEO Group’s Q3 2019 earnings at $0.68 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.67 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $2.68 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.66 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $2.77 EPS.
The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.13). The GEO Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $610.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.
GEO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Investment Research downgraded The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 18th. ValuEngine downgraded The GEO Group from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded The GEO Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Friday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Co restated a “hold” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded The GEO Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.67.
Shares of GEO stock opened at $20.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The GEO Group has a 52 week low of $18.18 and a 52 week high of $28.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.47.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.26%. The GEO Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 50,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 157,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,111,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 156,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Sun Life Financial INC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Sun Life Financial INC now owns 10,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,208 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.43% of the company’s stock.
The GEO Group Company Profile
The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is the first fully integrated equity real estate investment trust specializing in the design, financing, development, and operation of correctional, detention, and community reentry facilities around the globe. GEO is the world’s leading provider of diversified correctional, detention, community reentry, and electronic monitoring services to government agencies worldwide with operations in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.