CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) Critical Review

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CoreCivic and Vornado Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CoreCivic	$1.90 billion	1.29	$67.59 million	$0.67	33.21
Vornado Realty Trust	$1.81 billion	4.72	$105.49 million	($0.29)	-154.69

Vornado Realty Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CoreCivic. Vornado Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CoreCivic, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

CoreCivic has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vornado Realty Trust has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.1% of CoreCivic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of CoreCivic shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares CoreCivic and Vornado Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CoreCivic	3.85%	6.55%	3.20%
Vornado Realty Trust	0.46%	1.72%	0.48%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for CoreCivic and Vornado Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CoreCivic	0	1	2	0	2.67
Vornado Realty Trust	2	6	2	0	2.00

CoreCivic presently has a consensus price target of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.33%. Vornado Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $36.58, suggesting a potential downside of 18.47%. Given CoreCivic’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe CoreCivic is more favorable than Vornado Realty Trust.

Summary

CoreCivic beats Vornado Realty Trust on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CoreCivic

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. Its correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities offer rehabilitation and educational programs, including basic education, faith-based services, life skills and employment training, and substance abuse treatment. The company owns and operates correctional and detention facilities, residential reentry centers, and properties for lease. CoreCivic, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.

About Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado Realty Trust is a fully – integrated equity real estate investment trust.