CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Coverage Initiated at Benchmark

Benchmark began coverage on shares of CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 38.37% from the company’s current price.

CXW has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

CoreCivic Price Performance

Shares of CXW opened at $20.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 0.72. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.54. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.84.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $603.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $585.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CoreCivic will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,713,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $242,955,000 after acquiring an additional 138,846 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CoreCivic by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 8,978,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,574,000 after purchasing an additional 287,108 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in 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 valued at $39,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146,166 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in CoreCivic by 13.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 361.3% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,260,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,562,000 after buying an additional 987,375 shares during 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.