CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) Short Interest Up 331.5% in August

Key Points

• CoreCivic’s short interest surged 331.5% in August to 15.4 million shares, representing 15.9% of shares outstanding and 8.6 days to cover.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $37 target price; Benchmark raised its target to $45.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 15.7% of outstanding shares.

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 15,424,304 shares, a growth of 331.5% from the July 30th total of 3,574,436 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,783,511 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.6 days. Currently, 15.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their price target on CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CoreCivic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

CoreCivic Stock Performance

CXW stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.02. The stock had a trading volume of 481,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,660. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.11. CoreCivic has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $34.86.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $684.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CoreCivic will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CoreCivic announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, August 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CoreCivic

In other news, Director John R. Prann, Jr. sold 22,298 shares of CoreCivic stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $758,132.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,098 shares in the company, valued at $275,332. The trade was a 73.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harley G. Lappin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.69, for a total value of $98,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,328 shares in the company, valued at $1,645,222.32. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 393,625 shares of company stock valued at $13,176,070 in the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 533.9% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in CoreCivic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CoreCivic by 33.0% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in CoreCivic during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. 85.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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