CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• CoreCivic shares gapped down from a prior close of $34.36 to open at $32.91, trading near $32.94. The company’s market capitalization was approximately $3.27 billion.
• Analysts remained broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $39.40; individual targets ranged from $35 to $45.
• CoreCivic reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating estimates of $0.34, while revenue rose 27.3% year over year to $684.92 million. Its board also approved a $500 million share-buyback program, covering up to 15.7% of outstanding shares.

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $34.36, but opened at $32.91. CoreCivic shares last traded at $32.9430, with a volume of 142,789 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CXW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $35.00 price objective on CoreCivic in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JonesTrading restated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Benchmark lifted their price target on CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CoreCivic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CoreCivic from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoreCivic presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.40.

CoreCivic Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 0.60. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.57.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 5.15%.The business had revenue of $684.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. 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 forecast that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CoreCivic announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, August 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CoreCivic news, Director John R. Prann, Jr. sold 40,000 shares of CoreCivic stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $1,341,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,481.84. The trade was a 56.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony L. Grande sold 29,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.61, for a total transaction of $981,378.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 164,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,538,323.02. The trade was a 15.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 459,287 shares of company stock valued at $15,431,193 over the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoreCivic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CXW. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CoreCivic in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in CoreCivic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in CoreCivic in the second quarter valued at approximately $120,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in CoreCivic in the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CoreCivic in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors own 85.13% of the company's stock.

About CoreCivic

CoreCivic, Inc NYSE: CXW is a diversified government-solutions company that provides detention, corrections and residential reentry services. The company partners with federal, state and local government agencies to design, develop, own, lease and manage correctional and detention facilities in the United States.

Through its CoreCivic Safety operations, the company manages correctional and detention facilities and provides related services, including security, inmate care, transportation and rehabilitation programs.

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