CPV is basically the "other side" of the coin in terms of WHC (CPV owns the facilities and leases them to WHC, WHC runs them); but there are two things I do not understand about this whole thing.
1) Why seperate the two? Is there some liability issue that I am not aware of? Or was WHC, because it was an operator, not able to buy and then lease back facilities that it did not own? (not able to expand, and was more convinient to split the business instead of keeping the ownership and managment as one).
2) Why have all the insider activity in the past year for both companies been selling activity? (Ill timed acitivity too).
It makes me wonder.
However, I think the stocks are good ones (WHC especially). I think that the rising prison population, longer sentences, increasing unemployment, and increasign despair in the US is all good omens for the prison industry in general and WHC and CXW in particular (although I am not so fond of CRN).
My opinion on your two questions: (1.) Why separate the two? Because CPV can expand to facilities other than WHC facilities. And there are tax advantages for being a REIT. (2.) Insider Activity: anybody's guess.