Cornell Companies upgraded to "outperform" - update

03/15/07 - Avondale Partners

NEW YORK, March 15 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Avondale Partners upgrade Cornell Companies Inc (CRN) from "perform" to "outperform," while reducing their estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from $20 to $25.

In a research note published yesterday, the analysts mention that the company has reported its 4Q pro-forma EPS ahead of the estimates and the consensus. Cornell Companies’ share price does not fully reflect the opportunities from the filling of Great Plains and the expansion of D. Ray James and Big Spring in the upcoming 12-24 months, the analysts say. The GAAP EPS estimate for 2007 has been reduced from $1.01 to $0.87 to reflect fees associated with the failed transaction with Veritas and the impact of the Great Plains population reduction.