Wall Street Zen Upgrades CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) to Buy
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemCoreCivic (NYSE:CXW – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.
Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark started coverage on CoreCivic in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.
View Our Latest Report on CoreCivic
CoreCivic Price Performance
Shares of NYSE CXW opened at $20.59 on Friday. CoreCivic has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $23.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.97 and a 200 day moving average of $18.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.
CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $603.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $585.12 million. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 5.27%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CoreCivic will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On CoreCivic
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 increased its position in CoreCivic by 31,516.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in CoreCivic in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CoreCivic by 33.0% in 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 period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in CoreCivic by 320.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. 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.