The GEO Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $24,050,000 after purchasing an additional 411,565 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. RoundAngle Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $806,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 201,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. 76.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEO has been the subject of several research reports. Northland Securities increased their target price on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Noble Financial lowered The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

GEO stock opened at $35.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.18, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.34. The GEO Group has a 12-month low of $10.47 and a 12-month high of $35.62.

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.