CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $34.86 and last traded at $34.72, with a volume of 1038307 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CXW shares. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CoreCivic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark boosted their price target on CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

CoreCivic Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78 and a beta of 0.60.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $684.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CoreCivic announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, August 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CoreCivic

In other news, Director John R. Prann, Jr. sold 3,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $105,332.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $170,000. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Garfinkle sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total value of $1,698,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 293,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,962,267.88. This represents a 14.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 439,287 shares of company stock valued at $14,734,193 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in CoreCivic by 49.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 19,630 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in CoreCivic by 69.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 11,557 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in CoreCivic by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 64,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 3,884.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 18,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,473,000 after purchasing an additional 4,977 shares during the period. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.