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

Key Points

• Geo Group saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 41,019 call options — about 582% above the typical volume of 6,016.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 76.10% of the company. Several firms recently increased their stakes, including Vanguard and SG Americas Securities.
• Analysts are generally constructive on GEO, with two Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, plus an average target price of $36.50. The stock recently traded at $29.60, down 0.7% on the day.

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 41,019 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 582% compared to the typical volume of 6,016 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geo Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matauro LLC acquired a new position in Geo Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,738,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Geo Group by 1,250.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 503,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,117,000 after purchasing an additional 466,261 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Geo Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,894,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $240,106,000 after buying an additional 98,742 shares during the period. Ballast Asset Management LP raised its position in Geo Group by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 257,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,157,000 after acquiring an additional 76,927 shares during the period. Finally, Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new stake in shares of Geo Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GEO. Northland Securities upped their price objective on Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JonesTrading reduced their price objective on Geo Group from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Geo Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Geo Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Geo Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.50.

Geo Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of GEO traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.60. 442,851 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,178,546. Geo Group has a 1 year low of $12.51 and a 1 year high of $32.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $26.52 and its 200-day moving average is $20.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.79.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.10. Geo Group had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 10.00%.The firm had revenue of $705.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $688.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Geo Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.150-1.250 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.290 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Geo Group will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group NYSE: GEO is a leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services to government agencies around the world. As a real estate investment trust, the company specializes in the design, financing, development and operation of secure facilities for adult and juvenile offenders, immigration detainees and individuals requiring mental health treatment or substance abuse programming. GEO's integrated service model also encompasses electronic monitoring, rehabilitative programming and post-release supervision aimed at reducing recidivism and enhancing public safety.

GEO's portfolio spans a range of facility types, including medium- and maximum-security correctional institutions, residential reentry centers, mental health treatment units and immigration detention centers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.