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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Prison Stocks: Should You Lock Them Up in your Portfolio

It seems like not a week goes by where we don't hear about a celebrity, a sports figure, a business person, or a politician going to jail. For the last several days, we've been bombarded with news about Paris Hilton going to jail. So is there a way to make money off these jailbirds? There are actually several publicly traded companies that provide prison services to governments. Here are a few that you should thoroughly search before letting them into your portfolio.

The largest by both market cap and revenues is Corrections Corp. of America (CXW), which is a Nashville, Tennessee based company with over 40 facilities. They have a P/E of 34 and a PEG of 1.8. Revenues were up over 52% year over year on a revenue gain of 11.5%. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

The next largest company is Geo Group Inc. (GEO), based in Boca Raton, Florida. They have facilities in the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and UK. P/E is 36 and PEG is 1.7. The stock trades on the NYSE.

Cornell Companies Inc. (CRN) is a Houston, Texas company, which in addition to providing detention services, also provides educational services to detainees. It has a P/E of 28 and a PEG of 2.5. It trades on the NYSE.

Avalon Correctional Services Inc. (CITY.PK) is a micro-cap stock which trades on the Pink Sheets, and should be considered very speculative. They operate correctional facilities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado.

Author does not own any of the above.

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