NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN) and CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Financial Analysis

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) and NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

CoreCivic has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NNN REIT has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CoreCivic and NNN REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CoreCivic	3.51%	5.97%	2.97%
NNN REIT	45.65%	9.28%	4.51%

Dividends

CoreCivic pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.6%. NNN REIT pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. CoreCivic pays out 288.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NNN REIT pays out 107.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NNN REIT has raised its dividend for 35 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.1% of CoreCivic shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of NNN REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of CoreCivic shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of NNN REIT shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for CoreCivic and NNN REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CoreCivic	0	0	3	0	3.00
NNN REIT	1	9	3	0	2.15

CoreCivic currently has a consensus price target of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 51.91%. NNN REIT has a consensus price target of $44.54, suggesting a potential upside of 5.90%. Given CoreCivic’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe CoreCivic is more favorable than NNN REIT.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CoreCivic and NNN REIT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CoreCivic	$1.96 billion	1.13	$68.87 million	$0.61	33.45
NNN REIT	$869.27 million	9.10	$396.83 million	$2.15	19.56

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

Summary

NNN REIT beats CoreCivic on 10 of the 16 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 NNN REIT

NNN REIT invests primarily in high-quality retail properties subject generally to long-term, net leases. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned 3,532 properties in 49 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 36.0 million square feet and a weighted average remaining lease term of 10.1 years. NNN is one of only three publicly traded REITs to have increased annual dividends for 34 or more consecutive years.