The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,970,000 shares, a drop of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 10,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in The GEO Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,919,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,213,000 after buying an additional 66,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The GEO Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,016,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,765,000 after purchasing an additional 97,452 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 17.1% in the third quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,644,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,125,000 after purchasing an additional 240,251 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $24,050,000 after purchasing an additional 411,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in The GEO Group by 1,501.6% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 788,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 739,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GEO. Noble Financial lowered The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price target on The GEO Group from $16.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

The GEO Group Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of GEO traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,523,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,831. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.37. 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 GEO Group has a twelve month low of $10.47 and a twelve 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.