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

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in 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 daily volume of 3,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The GEO Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of The GEO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,314,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 352.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 100,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 78,225 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in The GEO Group by 6.5% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 40,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in The GEO Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,128,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in The GEO Group by 26.3% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 26,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 5,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

The GEO Group Trading Up 4.2 %

NYSE:GEO traded up $1.43 during mid-day 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.37. The GEO Group has a twelve month low of $10.47 and a twelve month high of $35.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.