Here is What Hedge Funds Think About The Geo Group, Inc. (GEO)

The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was in 20 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. GEO shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund sentiment recently. There were 24 hedge funds in our database with GEO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. There are many incentives for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action surrounding The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO).

Hedge fund activity in The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)

At Q1’s end, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -17% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich’s Scopia Capital had the biggest position in The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO), worth close to $290.1 million, accounting for 10.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Scopia Capital’s heels is Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $39 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, Timothy S. Peterson’s Regiment Capital and Curtis Schenker and Craig Effron’s Scoggin.

Due to the fact that The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there were a few fund managers that slashed their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, Thomas Lenox Kempner’s Davidson Kempner said goodbye to the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, valued at about $22.8 million in stock.. Timothy S. Peterson’s fund, Regiment Capital, also sold off its call options., about $14.6 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What have insiders been doing with The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Geo Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO). These stocks are American Science & Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASEI), Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CKP), ADT Corp (NYSE:ADT), Ascent Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASCMA), and Brink’S Co (NYSE:BCO). All of these stocks are in the security & protection services industry and their market caps are closest to GEO’s market cap.