There is really only one reason insiders buy shares of a company — they believe the stock price is going to move higher and they want to profit from it. Market-driven sell-offs provide a perfect opportunity to snap up shares if you have faith in the company. Here are some stocks that were trending upward before the recent pullback and that have seen insider buying recently.
Cleco (CNL): Today the CEO purchased 22,000 shares, worth almost $700,000, of this supplier of electricity to communities in central and southeastern Louisiana. Sporting a market cap of $2.0 billion, this company also has a dividend yield of 3.4%. The share price is about 3% lower than a week ago but is still up more than 16% year over year. The stock has outperformed competitor Entergy (NYSE: ETR) and the broader markets year to date.
Developers Diversified Realty (DDR): The CEO, CFO and a director have purchased more than 120,000 shares, worth more than $1 million, of this Ohio-based real estate investment trust in the last couple of days. The $3.3 billion market cap REIT has a dividend yield of 1.3%. The share price has fallen about 13% in the past week but is still up more than 6% year to date. But the stock has underperformed the broader markets year to date.
Equity One (EQY): The chairman has been buying shares of this Florida-based real estate investment trust periodically since May, including more than 200,000 shares, worth about $3.7 million, in the past week. It has a dividend yield of 5.3% and a market cap of $1.9 billion. Shares dropped more than 8% in the past week but are up about 6% year to date. This stock also has underperformed the broader markets year to date.
Huntsman (HUN): The executive chairman and the CEO purchased 300,000 shares, worth about $3.4 million, of this Salt Lake City-based specialty chemicals producer on Monday. The dividend yield is 3.1% and the market cap of $3.2 billion. The share price is almost 28% lower than a week ago but is still up 36% from a year ago. The stock has outperformed competitors Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and DuPont (NYSE: DD) over the past year.
Linn Energy (LINE): The CEO, COO and a director have purchased 24,000 shares, worth about $800,000, of this Houston-based independent oil and natural gas company in the past week. The dividend yield is 7.8% and the market cap is $6.3 billion. The share price is about 8% lower than a week ago but is still more than 29% higher than a year ago. The stock has outperformed competitor Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) year to date.
Quidel (QDEL): Yesterday, the CEO and a director bought nearly 120,000 shares, worth about $6.4 million, of this San Diego-based health care company. Its market cap is $441.5 million and its long-term EPS growth forecast is 17.5%. Shares are trading about 7% lower than a week ago, as well as almost 8% lower than at the beginning of the year. The stock has outperformed the broader markets over the past six months.
Triumph Group (TGI): One director has purchased more than 47,000 shares, worth more than $2.4 million, of this aerospace manufacturer since the beginning of August, including 4,000 shares on Monday. It has a market cap of $2.3 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.8. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 13.4%. Shares are about 10% lower than a week ago, but up about 30% year over year. The stock has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average year to date.
Valhi (VHI): The chairman of the board has been periodically buying shares of this industrial products manufacturer all summer, including more than 26,000 shares worth more than $900,000 this week. This company has a market cap of $4.7 billion and its dividend yield is 1.2%. Despite the recent pullback, the share price is almost 90% higher year to date. The stock has outperformed the broader markets in that period.
This article is originally published at Benzinga.
