CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday, February 13th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

CoreCivic Trading Up 1.0%

CXW opened at $17.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.06. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.54. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $603.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $585.12 million. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 8.17%. CoreCivic’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CoreCivic will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

CoreCivic announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, November 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CXW. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CoreCivic in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 533.9% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in CoreCivic by 31,516.7% during the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 80.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of CoreCivic during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

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.