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 Friday. Traders acquired 29,880 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 86% compared to the typical volume of 16,075 call options.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEO. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 149.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Stock Performance

Shares of GEO opened at $28.24 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $607.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, analysts predict that The GEO Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Noble Financial upgraded The GEO Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on The GEO Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.40.

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.