Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW)

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 10,780 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 241% compared to the average daily volume of 3,163 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 49.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,630 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CoreCivic by 69.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 11,557 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in CoreCivic by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 64,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in CoreCivic by 3,884.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 18,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in CoreCivic by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,473,000 after acquiring an additional 4,977 shares during the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CoreCivic Price Performance

NYSE:CXW traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $30.02. 942,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,160,052. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43 and a beta of 0.57. CoreCivic has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $32.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CXW. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CoreCivic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised CoreCivic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price objective on CoreCivic from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on CoreCivic in a report on Friday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, CoreCivic has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.33.

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.