What's Happened With Prison Stocks Over The Last Month?

Shares of The GEO Group Inc GEO and Corrections Corporation of America CXW had some tough times in the second half of the summer.

It all started when reports suggested the Department of Justice might end the use of private prisons on August 18. Instead, the government was thinking of internalizing. Shares of both the companies dropped 10.7 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, that day.

Related Link: Hillary Clinton Rocks Private Prison Stocks

However, both stocks have bounced from near 52-week low levels, but the road has been rocky, to say the least. For dividend investors, it's a blessing in disguise since the yield was strengthened. For instance, GEO has a dividend yield of about 11 percent, while CXW has a yield more than 15 percent.

Below is a timeline of events which have impacted these two publicly-traded prison stocks over the last month:

• August 18: Reports indicated DOJ might end the use of private prisons
• August 19: GEO Group announces contract renewal by Federal Bureau of Prisons for the D. Ray James Facility
• August 24: Canaccord trims price targets on both stocks
• August 25: Height Analytics believes Hillary Clinton not likely to end Federal prison use
• August 29: GEO Group "welcomes" independent review announcement by Homeland Security Department
• August 29: SunTrust Strongly defended GEO Group and Corrections Corp
• September 16: New York Times publishes article on "Why the Senate couldn't pass a Crime Bill Both Parties backed"
• September 22: Chatter of Senate Bill includes $50 million in additional funding for Dooly prison operated by Corrections Corp of America,  a positive for prison stocks
• September 26: Moodys Report on Prison REITs indicate "Cash flows to prison REITs less certain as use of private operators questioned"
• September 27: Prison stocks moved lower, following Presidential debate where Hillary Clinton indicated support for cessation of federal funding of private prisons and a desire to see state governments follow suit
• September 30: GEO issues update on contract renewal for D. Ray James facility