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

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 15,424,304 shares, an increase of 331.5% from the July 30th total of 3,574,436 shares. Currently, 15.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,783,511 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.6 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CoreCivic news, Director John R. Prann, Jr. sold 22,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $758,132.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $275,332. This trade represents a 73.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony L. Grande sold 7,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $254,683.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 157,346 shares in the company, valued at $5,389,100.50. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 393,625 shares of company stock valued at $13,176,070. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in CoreCivic during the second quarter worth $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in CoreCivic by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of CoreCivic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

CoreCivic Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:CXW traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.02. The company had a trading volume of 481,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. CoreCivic has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $34.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.11.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $684.92 million during 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 for the quarter was up 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CoreCivic will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, August 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CXW shares. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on CoreCivic in a report on Friday, June 26th. JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CoreCivic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

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.