Geo Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GEO)

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 24,726 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the typical volume of 15,051 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Geo Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Geo Group by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Geo Group during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Geo Group by 149.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Geo Group Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:GEO traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.84. 6,802,263 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,930,791. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.03. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 125.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.76. Geo Group has a one year low of $11.75 and a one year high of $36.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $604.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.81 million. Geo Group had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 1.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Geo Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GEO. Jones Trading reduced their target price on shares of Geo Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Geo Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Geo Group in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.00.

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.