The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Short Interest Down 6.1% in July

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,290,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the July 15th total of 9,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GEO shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of The GEO Group in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded The GEO Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The GEO Group news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $43,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Shayn P. March sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total value of $43,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,275. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman George C. Zoley acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 3,900,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,098,146.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The GEO Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in The GEO Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in The GEO Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in The GEO Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 100,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in The GEO Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of The GEO Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 106,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GEO opened at $13.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.67. The GEO Group has a one year low of $6.94 and a one year high of $18.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $607.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.16 million. The GEO Group had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The GEO Group will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.