CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Shares Up 6.2% - Still a Buy?

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) shares were up 6.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.05 and last traded at $19.17. Approximately 897,624 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,260,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CXW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CoreCivic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial upgraded shares of CoreCivic from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of CoreCivic from $17.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

CoreCivic Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.19 and its 200 day moving average is $17.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.00.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.06. CoreCivic had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 6.55%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CoreCivic, Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CoreCivic

In other CoreCivic news, EVP Anthony L. Grande sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $576,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,825,288.40. This trade represents a 16.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Emkes sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $363,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 149,264 shares in the company, valued at $3,388,292.80. The trade was a 9.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 0.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 8,611,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $108,937,000 after acquiring an additional 40,365 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 6,127,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $133,206,000 after acquiring an additional 553,336 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,117,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,739,000 after acquiring an additional 186,310 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,200,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,133,000 after acquiring an additional 18,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoreCivic by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,570,005 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,517,000 after acquiring an additional 18,410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.13% of the company's stock.

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.