CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.40, but opened at $19.12. CoreCivic shares last traded at $19.30, with a volume of 92,555 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CXW shares. Noble Financial raised CoreCivic from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of CoreCivic from $17.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

CoreCivic Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.89.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.06. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 3.51%. Research analysts anticipate that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CoreCivic during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 318.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CoreCivic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 86,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

CoreCivic Company Profile

CoreCivic, Inc owns and operates partnership correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities in the United States. It operates through three segments: CoreCivic Safety, CoreCivic Community, and CoreCivic Properties. The company provides a range of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through corrections and detention management, a network of residential reentry centers to help address America’s recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions.