Corrections Corp. of America executives said Thursday that an internal investigation of its operations at Idaho's largest prison show that workers there cooked the staffing books by some 4,800 hours. State officials say they, too, will take a close look at the company's records before making any decisions on what to do with the $29 million-per-year contract, which expires in 14 months.

Ray and company spokesman Steve Owen said the unstaffed hours account for a fraction of total staffing time during the seven-month stretch. The prison didn’t experience any significant increase in inmate violence during the period, they said. Even so, Owen said the company is taking the staffing vacancies and the falsified reports seriously.

“We will take appropriate disciplinary action with the involved personnel, and we will work to enhance the staffing, training and record keeping processes at the facility,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Staffing scrutiny for CCA in Idaho

Manav Patnaik at Barclays Capital on Tuesday raised his price target for shares of Corrections Corp. of America to $45 from $38 and reiterated his 'overweight' rating of the prison operator. Driving his move are improving fundamentals: Almost half of the company's state customers are budgeting for price increases and more than that expect more inmates in the coming year. Shares of CCA (Ticker: CXW) rose more than 3 percent Tuesday to more than $40 and have climbed about 14 percent so far this year.

New Hampshire officials have decided to spike plans to build a private prison after a consultant's report said there were "significant issues" with bids submitted by Corrections Corp. of America and three of its competitors.

MGT determined that the net cost in 2012 dollars of housing inmates — including staffing, overhead, maintenance, and food — is $36,435 per male inmate and $37,573 per female inmate. The consultants projected that over 20 years, the figures would increase by 68 percent for the men and 99 percent for the women.

The Virginia Department of Corrections has awarded Corizon a two-year contract, with five optional one-year extensions, the Brentwood-based provider of correctional facility health care announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Our staff on the ground provided outstanding service when we last worked with the Virginia DOC from 2006 to 2011, and that went a long way in allowing us this new opportunity,” Stuart Campbell, Corizon president and chief operating officer, said in a release.

The new contract will begin May 1, with Corizon to provide medical, mental health, pharmacy and support services to approximately 15,000 inmates across the Virginia penal system.

A Texas Senate committee this week voted to let a prison management contract with Corrections Corp. of America expire when it comes up for renewal this summer. If fully approved, the move would empty the 2,100-bed Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility west of Dallas, which Nashville-based CCA has owned and managed since 1995. The company's contract with the state includes two renewal options for two years each. Shares of CCA (Ticker: CXW) are up slightly to almost $38 in Wednesday afternoon trading. Year to date, they're up 7 percent.