CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Stock Price Down 10.1% – What’s Next?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) shares dropped 10.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.90 and last traded at $16.7790. Approximately 210,316 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 946,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CXW shares. Wall Street Zen raised CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. JonesTrading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CoreCivic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

CoreCivic Trading Down 11.1%

The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.66.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $585.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,713,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,955,000 after acquiring an additional 138,846 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 140.6% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,961,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,166 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in CoreCivic by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,856,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,774,000 after purchasing an additional 224,747 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in CoreCivic by 361.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,260,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after purchasing an additional 987,375 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CoreCivic by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,162,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,222,000 after buying an additional 362,451 shares in the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.