Height: Congressional Budget Deal A Boon For Private Prisons

A little over two years ago, the very existence of Corecivic Inc (NYSE: CXW) and The GEO Group Inc (NYSE: GEO) appeared at risk.

Now, under the friendlier Trump administration, the private prison operators are forecasted not only to survive but to thrive, according to Height Securities. 

Congress is expected to pass a yearlong appropriations bill March 23, and the House and Senate proposals outline different, pro-prison Department of Homeland Security budgets. In the worse-case scenario for the private prison operators, the Senate secures funding on par with 2017 rates. In the best case, the House provides a 12-percent year-over-year increase for an additional 4,676 detention beds.

“However, the top-line funding to which lawmakers agreed as part of the two-year budget deal includes spending $63 billion above the sequestration caps for domestic levels in fiscal 2018,” Height Securities analyst Stefanie Miller said in a Friday note. “That is an encouraging data point since the additional funds give lawmakers flexibility to allocate money for more beds if they choose to do so."

The appropriations broken down for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contracts the prisons, will lend clarity on potential federal opportunities that have not yet materialized.

Height noted Tuesday that the contractors should see a revenue swell from rising ICE arrests.

At the time of publication, The GEO Group was trading up 1.53 percent at $20.28, while Corecivic traded up slightly at $21.49.

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