Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 24,159 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 56% compared to the typical volume of 15,504 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of The GEO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of The GEO Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on The GEO Group in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The GEO Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Transactions at The GEO Group

In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,070. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $555,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the first quarter worth $296,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 210.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 53,329 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of The GEO Group during the first quarter worth $929,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in The GEO Group during the first quarter valued at $1,963,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $30.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. The GEO Group has a 1-year low of $11.75 and a 1-year high of $36.46.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $607.45 million. The GEO Group had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Research analysts expect that The GEO Group will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.