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

Key Points

• CoreCivic’s short interest surged 65.8% to 3.57 million shares as of July 31, representing about 3.7% of shares outstanding and 3.8 days to cover.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.38 EPS versus the $0.34 consensus and $684.9 million in revenue, up 27.3% year over year. Its board also approved a $500 million share-repurchase plan, covering up to 15.7% of outstanding shares.
• Wall Street maintains a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $37 average price target, although insiders sold 223,891 shares worth approximately $7.4 million over the past 90 days.

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 952,908 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

CoreCivic Price Performance

Shares of CoreCivic 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.39. CoreCivic has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $34.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $684.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CoreCivic will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 15.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CXW. Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on CoreCivic in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 target price on CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Benchmark increased their target price on CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CoreCivic from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CoreCivic news, Director Devin Ignatius Murphy sold 8,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $273,631.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 63,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,156,680.54. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harley G. Lappin sold 22,032 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.02, for a total value of $727,496.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,760,890.56. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 223,891 shares of company stock valued at $7,435,655. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in CoreCivic by 49.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 69.8% in the 1st 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. boosted its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 64,828 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of 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 grew its position in shares of CoreCivic by 2.3% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,977 shares in the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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