CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Shares Up 5.5% – Still a Buy?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) traded up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $31.62 and last traded at $31.4590. 324,316 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,418,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CXW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CoreCivic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Benchmark upped 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JonesTrading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.40.

CoreCivic Trading Up 4.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.03.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $15.14 by ($14.65). The firm had revenue of $744.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.55 million. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 54.60%. The business’s revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, August 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CoreCivic news, CFO David Garfinkle sold 50,000 shares of CoreCivic stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total transaction of $1,698,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 293,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,962,267.88. The trade was a 14.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $1,027,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 141,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,634.50. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 459,287 shares of company stock valued at $15,431,193 over the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 64,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,238 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in CoreCivic by 52.5% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 7,604 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in CoreCivic by 16.4% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 49,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 6,923 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in CoreCivic by 338.0% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 67,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 51,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

About CoreCivic

CoreCivic, Inc. is a U.S. corrections and government-services company that operates correctional and detention facilities under contracts with federal, state and local government agencies. Its services include facility management and related support for people in custody. The company also provides residential reentry services, including transitional housing and programs intended to help people return to their communities. Through its real estate business, CoreCivic owns and develops correctional and detention properties that government agencies may lease.