CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the March 15th total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 960,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

CoreCivic Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE CXW traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.38. 366,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 862,311. CoreCivic has a one year low of $7.84 and a one year high of $16.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.17). CoreCivic had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 3.56%. The firm had revenue of $491.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.62 million. On average, analysts anticipate that CoreCivic will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Damon T. Hininger sold 50,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.62, for a total transaction of $738,675.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 820,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,992,230.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CoreCivic news, EVP Anthony L. Grande sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.50, for a total value of $217,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 186,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,707,034. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Damon T. Hininger sold 50,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.62, for a total transaction of $738,675.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 820,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,992,230.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the first quarter worth $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the first quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the second quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 85.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of CoreCivic from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of CoreCivic from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of CoreCivic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

CoreCivic Company Profile

CoreCivic, Inc owns and operates partnership correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities in the United States. It operates through three segments: CoreCivic Safety, CoreCivic Community, and CoreCivic Properties. The company provides a range of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through corrections and detention management, a network of residential reentry centers to help address America's recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.