Short Interest in The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) Rises By 20.5%

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,600,000 shares, a growth of 20.5% from the November 15th total of 8,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

The GEO Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of GEO stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.41. 2,241,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,869,709. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88. 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 fifty-two week low of $10.13 and a fifty-two week high of $29.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The GEO Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in The GEO Group by 9.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 110,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in The GEO Group by 131.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,037,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,904,000 after purchasing an additional 590,099 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The GEO Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 100,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of The GEO Group by 10.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 67,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of The GEO Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,114,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,008,000 after buying an additional 49,134 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of The GEO Group from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Northland Securities increased 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. Finally, Noble Financial downgraded The GEO Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

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.