The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Short Interest Up 13.3% in October

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,780,000 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the October 15th total of 15,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.6 days. Currently, 14.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GEO. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in The GEO Group by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,928,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $157,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,703 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The GEO Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,113,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,340,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,829 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 2,354,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,859,000 after acquiring an additional 960,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 125.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,452,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,600,000 after acquiring an additional 809,000 shares during the last quarter. 74.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GEO shares. Northland Securities initiated coverage on The GEO Group in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on The GEO Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of The GEO Group from $12.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEO opened at $9.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.80. The GEO Group has a fifty-two week low of $6.94 and a fifty-two week high of $12.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. The company had revenue of $602.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.31 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 5.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The GEO Group Company Profile

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is a leading diversified government service provider, specializing in design, financing, development, and support services for secure facilities, processing centers, and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEO's diversified services include enhanced in-custody rehabilitation and post-release support through the award-winning GEO Continuum of Care, secure transportation, electronic monitoring, community-based programs, and correctional health and mental health care.