CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

CoreCivic Stock Down 1.7%

CoreCivic stock opened at $18.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.97. CoreCivic has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $23.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CoreCivic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 31,516.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of CoreCivic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CoreCivic by 33.0% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.