In this article, we will take a look at some banks stocks with insider buying and selling activity. To see more such stocks, go to 5 Bank Stocks With Insider Buying and Selling Last Week.
The collapse of the Silicon Valley bank sent tremors throughout the global financial system. As of March 15 morning, European banks were starting to feel the heat, with Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) losing almost a quarter of its value after the Swiss bank’s largest investor, Saudi National Bank, categorically announced that it cannot provide more financial assistance to the bank.
The Federal Reserve Running Out of Options
Several bank stocks which rose after the US government’s quick intervention to stop the spillover of the current crisis were falling on Wednesday morning. The recent crisis has created a new problem for the Federal Reserve, which was on its path of monetary tightening to quell inflation. However, several analysts are now seeing the Federal Reserve hitting brakes on its rate-hike spree, with some even expecting rate cuts. While the Federal Reserve wants to control inflation, it does not want the financial system to break down in the process.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe the Federal Reserve will not announce any new interest rate hikes at its upcoming meeting, as the firm sees “considerable uncertainty” about the Fed’s roadmap.
Should You Buy the “Incredible Bargain” In Bank Stocks?
But some believe the government will be able to control the crisis. Bill Ackman of Pershing Square on March 13 wrote in a tweet that he believes regional bank stocks are an “incredible bargain now as long as the gov’t does the right thing, and I am confident it will.” Ackman has been vehemently calling for a government guarantee on deposits to increase consumer confidence. Here is what Ackman said in his tweet about regional bank stocks:
“This means that one of the great trades would be to buy regional bank stocks or ETFs here. And the massive decline in rates makes this an even better investment now. This is not without real risk, but it does offer very attractive asymmetry. I would be surprised if Warren isn’t putting capital to work in his favorite regional banks now. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to participate as we decided that we wouldn’t invest long or short in banks as I want to continue to be part of this conversation and be able to share my views without the typical accusations against investors who share their views while having a trade on.”
Luis Louro / shutterstock.com
Is the Current Turmoil an Overreaction?
Wells Fargo analyst Jared Shaw said in a note to investors that the selloff in the banking sector was “an overreaction to fears of a potential bank run, as the space is well-capitalized.” The analyst thinks banks have “significant sources of additional liquidity.” Shaw thinks that “challenges from rates” will have an earnings impact for banks but they do not pose an “existential crisis” to these companies. The analyst said he does not think that depositors should lose confidence. At Morgan Stanley, analyst Manan Gosalia called the Silicon Valley bank problems as “highly idiosyncratic.” The analyst said the problem of the collapsed bank should not be “read-across to other banks we cover.”
The analyst said that the reason why investors are worried right now is their concerns about liquidity in the sector. On that front, the analyst added:
“We want to be very clear here… we do not believe there is a liquidity crunch facing the banking industry, and most banks in our coverage have ample access to liquidity.”
Another comment to calm investors’ nerves came from BofA Securities analyst Ebrahim Poonawala who believes investors are extrapolating issues peculiar to some banks in the sector.
Despite these optimistic comments, investors will continue to watch bank stocks like Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) closely in the coming weeks.
Why Is It Important to Look at Insider Buying and Selling Activity?
Amid the latest banking crisis, investors and analysts have been watching insider buying and selling activity at regional banks, as these transactions often point to management’s confidence in their company, or lack thereof. For example, CNBC recently revealed in a report that Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker sold about $30 million worth of stock over the past two years. What’s more concerning is that the executive sold a whopping $3.6 million worth of SVB shares on February 27, just a few days before the bank reported a loss that led to events causing its collapse. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on insider buying and selling activity and that’s what we are going to do in this article.
For this article we used Insider Monkey’s database of insider buying and selling activity and picked 11 bank stocks with insider buying and selling transactions during the seven-day period ending March 14. We preferred bank stocks whose insider selling and buying activity had significant dollar value during this period. With each stock we have also mentioned hedge fund activity. As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, hedge funds were heavily piled into major banks stocks like Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC).
11. Coastal Financial Corp (EVERETT) (NASDAQ:CCB)
Coastal Financial Corp (EVERETT) (NASDAQ:CCB) is the bank holding company for Coastal Community Bank. Steven D Hovde, a bank’s director who is also a 10% owner of the company’s shares, on March 14 bought 30,000 shares of Coastal Financial Corp (EVERETT) (NASDAQ:CCB) at $37.71 per share. The total value of these shares came in at about $1.13 million. As of the market close of March 14, Coastal Financial shares were trading at $35.82.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 11 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Coastal Financial Corp (EVERETT) (NASDAQ:CCB). The total worth of these stakes was about $24 million. The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of the bank was Emanuel J. Friedman’s EJF Capital which had an $11.5 million stake in the company.
10. First Citizens Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA)
First Citizens Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA) CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. on March 9 bought 165 company shares at $650 per share. The stock has lost about 17% in value over the past five days. In January, the company posted its Q4 results.
Adjusted EPS in the period came in at $20.94, missing estimates by $2.04. Revenue in the quarter gained about 161% on a YoY basis to reach $1.23 billion, beating estimates by $120 million.
As of the end of the last quarter of 2022, 35 hedge funds reported having stakes in First Citizens Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA). The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of First Citizens Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited which had a $539 million stake in First Citizens Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA).
9. Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL)
Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL) is the parent company of Stellar Bank. Over the past five days the stock has lost about 8% in value over the broader banking sector downturn. However, it is one of the important bank stocks with latest insider buying activity. Joe Swinbank, a director at Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL), on March 13 bought 37,841 Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL) shares at $26.411 per share. Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL) has lost about 1.6% in value since the transaction. As of the market close of March 14, Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL) shares were trading at $25.99. Another director at the bank named Joe Penland, Sr. also reported buying 10,000 Stellar Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STEL) shares at about $26.94 per share.
Insider Money’s database of 943 hedge funds shows that 11 hedge funds had stakes in Stellar Bancorp at the end of December 2022.
8. Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE:SCHW)
Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE:SCHW) has shown some heavy insider buying activity lately. The company’s CEO Walter W Bettinger bought a whopping 50,000 shares of the bank on March 14 at $59.31 per share. Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE:SCHW) jumped about 9% on March 14 and closed at $56.68. Todd M. Ricketts, a director at Charles Schwab, also piled into 10,000 shares of the company on March 14 at $56.7862 per share.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE:SCHW) was one of the favorite bank stocks of elite hedge funds as 74 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company. The net worth of these stakes was about $8.2 billion. The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE:SCHW) was GQG Partners of Rajiv Jain with a $1.4 billion stake.
7. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)
KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) is the bank holding company of KeyBank National Association. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was one of the biggest gainers on Tuesday amid a broader recovery of regional bank stocks after the government assured investors that it would not let the SVB crisis spill over to other banks. However, on March 10, KeyCorp’s Chief Information Officer Amy Brady sold 45,000 KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) shares at $15.58 per share. The stock is down about 22% since the transaction.
A total of 33 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported having stakes in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The net worth of these stakes was $582 million. The biggest stakeholder of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) was Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management with a $128 million stake.
6. Citizens Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS)
Citizens Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS) is one of the bank stocks with latest insider selling activity. On March 6, Joseph Landy, a director at Citizens Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS), sold 3,439 company shares at $83 per piece. Citizens Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS) is down about 10% since the transaction date.
Out of the 943 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 2 hedge funds had stakes in Citizens Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CZFS) as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.
Amid the latest banking crisis, investors are watching major banks stocks including Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC).
Click to continue reading and see 5 Bank Stocks With Insider Buying and Selling Last Week.
Suggested articles:
- 20 Most Valuable European Tech Companies In The World
- 10 Best Stocks to Buy for the Next 10 Years
- 11 Cheap EV Stocks To Buy
Disclosure: None.11 Bank Stocks With Insider Buying and Selling Last Week is originally published on Insider Monkey.
