Arizona Win. Yesterday, CoreCivic announced that the Company was awarded a new contract with the state of Arizona for up to 2,706 adult male inmates to be housed at the Company's 3,060 bed La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. This is a significant award for the Company, in our view, as it is the largest prison contract awarded in the private sector by any state in over a decade.Contract Details. The contract has an initial term of five years, with one extension option for up to five years. The Company and Arizona Department of Corrections are currently working on a ramp plan that is expected to begin late in the first or early in the second quarter of 2022. Upon full utilization of the new contract, the Company expects to generate approximately $75 million to $85 million in annualized revenue.More Facility Utilization? The La Palma facility currently houses about 1,900 ICE detainees. As the state moves inmates in, ICE and CoreCivic will work to transfer the ICE population. ICE currently contracts another facility in Arizona which could accept roughly 750 detainees based on 3Q21 occupancy and a facility in San Diego that could accept about 700. Alternatively, CoreCivic does have two facilities in Colorado that are currently idle.More New Business? The situation at the southwest border remains an issue, with encounters continuing to run at historic high levels. When Title 42 is finally rescinded, it is conceivable border crossings increase further. ICE continues to plan out the potential of additional capacity if required. We believe CoreCivic continues to be active with the Agency about additional capacity.Maintaining Outperform and $15 PT. We continue to believe CXW shares present a compelling risk/reward opportunity. We believe the services offered by CoreCivic are needed by its government partners to solve the complex issues they face. We are maintaining our Outperform rating and $15.00 12-month price target. At our target, CXW shares would trade at 14.6x our 2021 adjusted EPS estimate, 8.2x our 2021 AFFO estimate, 7.2x adjusted EBITDA, and 1.5x revenue. Read More >>