CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.38, but opened at $30.27. CoreCivic shares last traded at $30.3060, with a volume of 328,973 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CXW shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CoreCivic from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CoreCivic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on CoreCivic from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.33.

CoreCivic Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.67.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $614.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $604.48 million. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 9.29%. CoreCivic’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.680 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 273.1% during the 1st quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 2,173,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,101,000 after buying an additional 1,590,940 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in CoreCivic by 140.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,961,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,166 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in CoreCivic by 361.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,260,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after acquiring an additional 987,375 shares during the period. Hatch Cove Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CoreCivic in the 4th quarter worth $12,951,000. Finally, Philosophy Capital Management LLC raised its position in CoreCivic by 144.9% during the third quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,021,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,785,000 after acquiring an additional 604,311 shares during the period. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CoreCivic

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.