Geo Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GEO)

Geo Group Inc (The) (NYSE:GEO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 16,413 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 89% compared to the typical volume of 8,705 call options.

Geo Group Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:GEO traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,010,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. Geo Group has a 1-year low of $12.51 and a 1-year high of $33.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.24.

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Geo Group had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $732.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $721.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Geo Group will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GEO. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Geo Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geo Group in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Northland Securities upped their target price on Geo Group from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Geo Group in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Geo Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Insider Activity

In other Geo Group news, insider Ronald A. Brack sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $224,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Matthew Albence sold 11,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $371,015.65. Following the transaction, the vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 28,797 shares of company stock valued at $911,916 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geo Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Geo Group by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,895,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $118,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284,770 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Geo Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Geo Group by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Geo Group by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Geo Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $644,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About Geo Group

The GEO Group, Inc (NYSE: GEO) is a provider of correctional, detention and community-reentry services. The company designs, finances, develops and manages secure facilities for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as certain international government clients. Its facilities house individuals in pretrial detention, immigration detention and correctional programs.

GEO also provides correctional and behavioral healthcare, transportation and security services, and electronic monitoring technologies.