Wall Street Zen Downgrades CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) to Hold

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

CoreCivic Stock Performance

NYSE CXW opened at $17.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.71. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.90 and a 200-day moving average of $19.04.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $603.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $585.12 million. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 5.27%.The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CoreCivic will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, November 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 140.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of CoreCivic by 361.3% during the second 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 buying an additional 987,375 shares during the last quarter. Hatch Cove Capital LLC bought a new position in CoreCivic during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,951,000. Philosophy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CoreCivic by 144.9% in the third quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,021,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,785,000 after purchasing an additional 604,311 shares during the period. Finally, Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd acquired a new position in CoreCivic in the third quarter worth about $9,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

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.