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

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 14,291 call options on the company. This is an increase of 100% compared to the average volume of 7,159 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Geo Group

In other Geo Group news, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $371,015.65. Following the sale, the vice president owned 87,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,082.90. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $224,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,648. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,797 shares of company stock valued at $911,916. 4.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Geo Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Geo Group during the second quarter worth $644,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Geo Group in the second quarter worth about $322,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $478,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $428,000. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Geo Group Stock Performance

GEO traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $30.78. 865,970 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,138,600. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78. Geo Group has a 52 week low of $12.51 and a 52 week high of $33.15.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $732.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $721.43 million. Geo Group had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 10.31%.Geo Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Geo Group will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GEO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Friday, September 4th. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Geo Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE:GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention, reentry and community-based services. The company designs, develops, finances and manages secure facilities for government agencies, including correctional institutions, immigration detention centers and other custodial facilities.

GEO also provides electronic monitoring and community supervision services, including location monitoring, case management and related technologies. Through its reentry services, the company operates residential centers and programs intended to support individuals transitioning from incarceration to community living, employment and other post-release services.

Founded in 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, the company adopted the name The GEO Group in 2003.