CoreCivic Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CXW)

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 10,085 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 818% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,098 call options.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in CoreCivic during the third quarter worth about $1,195,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in CoreCivic by 44.5% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 604,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,027,000 after buying an additional 186,174 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in CoreCivic by 126.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 173,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,528,000 after buying an additional 96,750 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CoreCivic by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,574,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $255,895,000 after buying an additional 183,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in CoreCivic by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,856,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,774,000 after buying an additional 224,747 shares in the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CoreCivic Price Performance

CoreCivic stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.65. 195,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,098,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.61. CoreCivic has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $23.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.76.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $603.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $585.12 million. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CoreCivic will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CXW. Benchmark began coverage on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. Finally, JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.