CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Stock Dropped to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CXW. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday, June 26th. Benchmark raised their price objective on CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on CoreCivic in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.40.

CoreCivic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CXW opened at $29.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.37. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $36.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $684.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CoreCivic will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CoreCivic announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 10th that authorizes the company to buy back $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other CoreCivic news, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 30,000 shares of CoreCivic stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $1,027,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 141,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,634.50. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R Jr sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $105,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,000. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 459,287 shares of company stock worth $15,431,193. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CoreCivic

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. T3 Companies LLC acquired a new position in CoreCivic in the 3rd quarter worth $416,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in CoreCivic during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. bought a new position in CoreCivic during the 3rd quarter worth about $369,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in CoreCivic during the 3rd quarter worth about $93,789,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. 85.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CoreCivic

CoreCivic, Inc is a diversified government solutions company that owns, manages and develops correctional and detention facilities in the United States. The company provides detention and corrections services to federal, state and local government agencies, primarily under contracts that call for the housing and care of individuals in custody.

In addition to secure facilities, CoreCivic operates residential reentry centers and provides community-based services designed to support individuals transitioning from incarceration.