CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Separately, JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CoreCivic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

CoreCivic Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:CXW opened at $18.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.02. 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 has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $23.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 0.72.

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 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 firm had revenue of $603.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $585.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. CoreCivic’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CoreCivic will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CoreCivic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, November 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in CoreCivic by 0.6% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 121,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 10.4% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 4.8% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 24,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. 85.13% of the stock is owned by 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.