High-Ranked Executive at Struggling Specialty Retailer New York & Company Inc. (NWY) Buys Shares; Plus Other Insider Trading

High-Ranked Executive at Struggling Specialty Retailer Buys Shares Amid Pressure from Shareholders

One of the most well-informed and influential executives at New York & Company Inc. (NYSE:NWY) purchased some shares this past week. John M. Worthington, President and Chief Operating Officer since early November 2014, snapped up 11,500 shares on Friday at a price of $2.22 per share. After the recent purchase, Mr. Worthington currently owns a total of 356,200 shares.

The specialty retailer of women’s fashion apparel and accessories, and the modern wear-to-work destination for women has seen the value of its shares decline by 3% in the past year and 30% in the past five years. New York & Company Inc. (NYSE:NWY)’s management recently revealed that comparable store sales for the nine weeks that ended December 31 fell by around 1.7% amid a challenging retail landscape, characterized by soft traffic and a highly promotional environment. Just recently, Kanen Wealth Management LLC, a shareholder of the specialty retailer that invested based on management’s communication of cost savings and a long-term target of a high single digit operating margin announced back in 2013, sent a letter to the company’s board and management disclosing their dissatisfaction with the poor stock performance and the management’s failure to deliver on their promises. As a result, the shareholder is calling for a detailed review of all expenses, a $30 million stock buyback, as well as a new board member. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, owned approximately 848,000 shares of New York & Company Inc. (NYSE:NWY) at the end of September.

CEO of Strong-Performing Community Bank Keeps Buying Shares

The man in charge of Peoples Financial Corp (NASDAQ:PFBX), who has been boosting his holding consistently over the past several months, purchased a few shares last week as well. CEO and President Chevis C. Swetman bought 1,000 shares on Tuesday at a price tag of $15.25 each. Mr. Swetman currently owns an aggregate of 303,416 shares following the small purchase mentioned above.

Had investors piggybacked the security purchases of the community bank’s CEO throughout 2016, they could have enjoyed strong returns as the company’s shares have gained 69% in the past year. Peoples Financial Corp (NASDAQ:PFBX) serves the financial and trust needs of its customers in the portions of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama within a fifty-mile radius of the Waveland, Wiggins and Gautier branches, the bank subsidiary’s three most outlying locations. The company generated net income of $542,000 for the first three quarters of 2016, as compared with a net loss of $5.31 million incurred in the same period of 2015. Jeffrey Gendell’s Tontine Asset Management had roughly 247,000 shares of Peoples Financial Corp (NASDAQ:PFBX) in its 13F portfolio at the end of the third quarter.

The final page of the article discusses fresh insider selling observed at two other companies.