How to buy The GEO Group stock | 9.42

The GEO Group, Inc is a reit—healthcare facilities business based in the US. The GEO Group shares (GEO) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. The GEO Group employs 23,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$2.4 billion.

How to buy shares in The GEO Group

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for The GEO Group. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: GEO. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until The GEO Group reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$9.42, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of The GEO Group, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of The GEO Group. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

How has coronavirus impacted The GEO Group's share price?

Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, The GEO Group's share price has had significant negative movement.

Its last market close was USD$9.42, which is 45.67% down on its pre-crash value of USD$17.34 and 5.63% down on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as USD$9.95.

If you had bought USD$1,000 worth of The GEO Group shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth USD$620.60 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth USD$581.12.

The GEO Group share price

Use our graph to track the performance of GEO stocks over time.

The GEO Group shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$9.42
52-week range	USD$9.95 - USD$17.61
50-day moving average	USD$11.132
200-day moving average	USD$11.6319
Wall St. target price	USD$16.5
PE ratio	8.8455
Dividend yield	USD$1.36 (12.69%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$1.222

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Is it a good time to buy The GEO Group stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of The GEO Group, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

The GEO Group price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $9.42 from 2020-11-16

1 week (2020-11-18)	0.32%
1 month (2020-10-26)	9.15%
3 months (2020-08-25)	-15.44%
6 months (2020-05-22)	-15.89%

1 year (2019-11-25)	-32.18%
2 years (2018-11-23)	-58.39%
3 years (2017-11-24)	-63.77%
5 years (2015-11-25)	-68.38%

Is The GEO Group under- or over-valued?

Valuing The GEO Group stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of The GEO Group's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

The GEO Group's P/E ratio

The GEO Group's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 9x. In other words, The GEO Group shares trade at around 9x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

The GEO Group's PEG ratio

The GEO Group's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.8434. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into The GEO Group's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

The GEO Group's EBITDA

The GEO Group's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$397.3 million.

The EBITDA is a measure of a The GEO Group's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

The GEO Group financials

Revenue TTM	USD$2.4 billion
Operating margin TTM	10.82%
Gross profit TTM	USD$617.2 million
Return on assets TTM	3.87%
Return on equity TTM	14.82%
Profit margin	5.96%
Book value	$7.931
Market capitalisation	USD$1.2 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting The GEO Group shares

There are currently 3.8 million The GEO Group shares held short by investors – that's known as The GEO Group's "short interest". This figure is 4.3% up from 3.6 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting The GEO Group shares can be evaluated.

The GEO Group's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

The GEO Group's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of The GEO Group shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of The GEO Group shares traded daily (recently around 1.3 million). The GEO Group's SIR currently stands at 2.83. In other words for every 100,000 The GEO Group shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2830 shares are currently held short.

However The GEO Group's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of The GEO Group shares, or, against the total number of tradable The GEO Group shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case The GEO Group's short interest could be expressed as 0.03% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 The GEO Group shares in existence, roughly 30 shares are currently held short) or 0.0454% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable The GEO Group shares, roughly 45 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against The GEO Group.

Find out more about how you can short The GEO Group stock.

The GEO Group share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 140.7% of net profits

Recently The GEO Group has paid out, on average, around 140.7% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 12.69% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), The GEO Group shareholders could enjoy a 12.69% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In The GEO Group's case, that would currently equate to about $1.36 per share.

The GEO Group's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

The GEO Group's most recent dividend payout was on 23 October 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 15 October 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have The GEO Group's shares ever split?

The GEO Group's shares were split on a 3:2 basis on 25 April 2017. So if you had owned 2 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 3 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your The GEO Group shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 33.3% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for The GEO Group shares which in turn could have impacted The GEO Group's share price.

The GEO Group share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, The GEO Group's shares have ranged in value from as little as $9.95 up to $17.61. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while The GEO Group's is 0.8627. This would suggest that The GEO Group's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

The GEO Group overview

The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) is the first fully integrated equity real estate investment trust specializing in the design, financing, development, and operation of secure facilities, processing centers, and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEO is a leading provider of enhanced in-custody rehabilitation, post-release support, electronic monitoring, and community-based programs. GEO's worldwide operations include the ownership and/or management of 125 facilities totaling approximately 93,000 beds, including projects under development, with a workforce of approximately 23,000 professionals.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of The GEO Group is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 3.371% of The GEO Group shares are held by insiders and 80.419% by institutions.

• How many people work for The GEO Group?

  Latest data suggests 23,000 work at The GEO Group.

• When does the fiscal year end for The GEO Group?

  The GEO Group's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is The GEO Group based?

  The GEO Group's address is: 4955 Technology Way, Boca Raton, FL, United States, 33431

• What is The GEO Group's ISIN number?

  The GEO Group's international securities identification number is: US36159R1032

• What is The GEO Group's CUSIP number?

  The GEO Group's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 36159R103