Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 24,372 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 69% compared to the average volume of 14,458 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GEO shares. Northland Securities raised their target price on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Noble Financial downgraded shares of The GEO Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The GEO Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

The GEO Group Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of GEO traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.43. The company had a trading volume of 4,523,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,978,529. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The GEO Group has a 1 year low of $10.47 and a 1 year high of $35.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The GEO Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The GEO Group by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 859,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,050,000 after acquiring an additional 411,565 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. RoundAngle Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The GEO Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing 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 worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company's stock.

The GEO Group Company Profile

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.

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