CoreCivic said its board authorized a $500 million expansion to its stock-buyback program, as gains from a real-estate sale lifted its profit in the third quarter.

The government-solutions company said the expanded authorization brings the total program to $1.7 billion, of which $755.8 million remains available.

The company on Wednesday reported a profit of $1.34 billion, or $14.49 a share, compared with a profit of $26.3 million, or 24 cents a share. The recent profit included a $1.77 billion net gain from the company's sale of four detention facilities to the federal government.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted earnings were 49 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 43 cents a share.

Revenue rose to $744.1 million, up from $580.4 million a year prior. Analysts were expecting $690.5 million in revenue.

"We delivered strong financial results in a very active quarter, driven by increased demand for our services from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including higher utilization of recently activated facilities, as well as the contribution from our acquisition of Clinical Solutions Pharmacy earlier this year," Chief Executive Lucibeth Mayberry said.

The company lifted its guidance for full-year adjusted earnings to a range of $1.74 to $1.80 a share, up from a range of $1.64 to $1.73 a share. Analysts currently expect $1.71 a share.

Shares of CoreCivic were roughly flat after-hours.