CoreCivic soars, extending Trump-fueled surge after Q3 beat-and-raise

Geo

07/11/2024 15:18

** Shares of prison operator CoreCivic Inc  CXW.N  soar
early Thurs after qtrly results top consensus and it raises
outlook, adding to big pop on Weds
  
    ** CXW on Weds surged ~29% to close at $17.58 after Donald
Trump, who  to crack down on illegal immigration, clinched
second term in the 
    White House
  
    ** Shares on Thurs last up 19.2% at $20.96 to highest since
Jun 2019
  
    ** Co late Weds  Q3 rev increased 2% y/y to $491.6 mln and
adj EPS of 20 cents vs LSEG estimates of $469.8 mln and 9 cents
  
    ** CEO Damon Hininger pointed to improved operating margin
through expense management and strong demand for essential
services, as occupancy rose to 75.2% from 72% a year ago
  
    ** Based on current conditions, it expects annual adj EPS of
69-75 cents, up from 58-66 cents, and now sees adj EBITDA of
$317-321 mln vs prior outlook of $302.4-$308.4 mln
  
    ** Shares of peer Geo Group  GEO.N  also rising 10% on Thurs
  
    ** Of 4 analyst covering CXW, 1 rates "buy", rest "hold" and
median PT is $17 - LSEG
  
    ** Including move on the session, shares up ~44% YTD after
26% advance in 2023
  

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))