CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) Short Interest Update

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,574,436 shares, an increase of 65.8% from the July 15th total of 2,155,884 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 952,908 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

CoreCivic Trading Up 1.9%

CXW stock traded up $0.62 on Monday, hitting $33.44. 1,773,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,201,018. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.58. CoreCivic has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $34.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.39.

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

CoreCivic announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, August 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CXW shares. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JonesTrading reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on CoreCivic in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price target on CoreCivic in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised CoreCivic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lucibeth Mayberry sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $3,994,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 149,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,162.41. The trade was a 44.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harley G. Lappin sold 22,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.02, for a total value of $727,496.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,328 shares in the company, valued at $1,760,890.56. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 223,891 shares of company stock valued at $7,435,655 over the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CXW. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 533.9% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in CoreCivic in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CoreCivic by 33.0% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in CoreCivic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in CoreCivic by 320.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

About CoreCivic

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.