The GEO Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 24,159 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the average volume of 15,504 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at The GEO Group

In other news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEO. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in The GEO Group by 374.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 170,839 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 27.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of The GEO Group stock opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The GEO Group has a 12 month low of $11.75 and a 12 month high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.08). The GEO Group had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 2.00%. The business had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that The GEO Group will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on GEO shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday, March 21st. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

About The GEO Group

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.