Traders Buy Large Volume of CoreCivic Call Options (NYSE:CXW)

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 10,085 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 818% compared to the average daily volume of 1,098 call options.

CoreCivic Price Performance

NYSE CXW opened at $20.52 on Friday. CoreCivic has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $23.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.77.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.09. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 5.27%.The business had revenue of $603.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $585.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CoreCivic will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in CoreCivic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 604,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,027,000 after acquiring an additional 186,174 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 173,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 96,750 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,574,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,895,000 after acquiring an additional 183,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,856,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,774,000 after acquiring an additional 224,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on CoreCivic in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Finally, JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

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.