CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.07 and last traded at $35.3640, with a volume of 2169312 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CXW shares. Weiss Ratings raised CoreCivic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on CoreCivic in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Monday, August 10th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

CoreCivic Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44 and a beta of 0.60.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 5.15%.The business 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 firm earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. Research analysts predict that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at CoreCivic

In other news, EVP Lucibeth Mayberry sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $3,994,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 149,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,162.41. This trade represents a 44.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $1,027,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 141,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,634.50. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 459,287 shares of company stock valued at $15,431,193. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CXW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CoreCivic during the second quarter valued at about $480,557,000. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in CoreCivic by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 8,978,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,574,000 after buying an additional 287,108 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its position in CoreCivic by 273.1% during the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 2,173,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,101,000 after buying an additional 1,590,940 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in CoreCivic by 5.0% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,059,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,940,000 after acquiring an additional 97,770 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CoreCivic in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,310,000. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CoreCivic

CoreCivic, Inc (NYSE: CXW) is a diversified government-solutions company that provides detention, corrections and residential reentry services. The company partners with federal, state and local government agencies to design, develop, own, lease and manage correctional and detention facilities in the United States.

Through its CoreCivic Safety operations, the company manages correctional and detention facilities and provides related services, including security, inmate care, transportation and rehabilitation programs.