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

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 24,372 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 69% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,458 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,919,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,213,000 after purchasing an additional 66,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,016,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,765,000 after buying an additional 97,452 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The GEO Group by 17.1% during the third quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,644,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,125,000 after acquiring an additional 240,251 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in The GEO Group by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,050,000 after acquiring an additional 411,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in The GEO Group by 1,501.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 788,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 739,550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GEO shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Noble Financial cut shares of The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $35.43 on Friday. The GEO Group has a twelve month low of $10.47 and a twelve month high of $35.62. 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 company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 122.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day moving average is $19.37.

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.