The GEO Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 55,064 call options on the company. This is an increase of 225% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,947 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The GEO Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 149.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in The GEO Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of GEO traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $25.72. 2,055,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,854,992. The GEO Group has a 1 year low of $11.50 and a 1 year high of $36.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Noble Financial downgraded shares of The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

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.