Jones Trading Reiterates Buy Rating for CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW)

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Jones Trading in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $30.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jones Trading’s target price suggests a potential upside of 68.40% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered CoreCivic from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

CoreCivic Stock Down 3.7%

CXW stock opened at $17.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.23. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.95 and a fifty-two week high of $23.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.09. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $603.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $585.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. CoreCivic’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CoreCivic will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, November 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CXW. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 533.9% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in CoreCivic by 31,516.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in CoreCivic by 80.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in CoreCivic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 85.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CoreCivic Company Profile

CoreCivic, Inc (NYSE: CXW) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management and operation of private correctional and detention facilities in the United States. The company enters into contracts with federal, state and local government agencies to house inmates and detainees in facilities that it owns or operates on a concession basis. In addition to traditional prison operations, CoreCivic provides specialized services such as community-based reentry programs, electronic monitoring and rehabilitation initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism.

CoreCivic’s portfolio encompasses a mix of adult correctional facilities, immigration detention centers, residential reentry centers and other community-based programs.