Several Insiders at Enterprise Financial Services Corp (EFSC) Offload Shares Before Earnings Release, Plus Other Notable Insider Trading

As the first earnings season since the U.S. election has kicked off with the release of three banking giants’ financial results, investors may anticipate insider trading activity to slow down quite meaningfully over the course of the next few weeks. Although some may have expected aluminum giant Alcoa to unofficially start the fourth-quarter earnings season, the company’s split into two companies to separate its raw aluminum operations from its aerospace and automotive supply businesses marks the end of an era.

Despite experiencing a quiet period of insider trading, investors should be on the lookout for new investment opportunities as disappointing earnings reports could create new entry points for both insiders and investors. Corporate insiders usually buy battered stocks poised to go higher in subsequent months and years. After all, Board members and executives are known for following the pattern of buying low and selling high. With that in mind, the following article will discuss some mild insider buying registered at two companies, as well as fresh insider selling at three other companies.

At Insider Monkey, we’ve developed an investment strategy that has delivered market-beating returns over the past 12 months. Our strategy identifies the 100 best-performing funds of the previous quarter from among the collection of 700+ successful funds that we track in our database, which we accomplish using our returns methodology. We then study the portfolios of those 100 funds using the latest 13F data to uncover the 30 most popular mid-cap stocks (market caps of between $1 billion and $10 billion) among them to hold until the next filing period. This strategy delivered 18% gains over the past 12 months, more than doubling the 8% returns enjoyed by the S&P 500 ETFs.

Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com

CEO of Owner of Very Large Gas Carriers Purchases Shares for His Child’s Future

To start with, let’s have a look into the insider buying activity observed at Dorian LPG Ltd (NYSE:LPG). Chief Executive Officer and President John C. Hadjipateras reported Wednesday the purchase of 20,000 shares at prices varying from $9.30 to $9.45 per share. The shares were originally held by Mr. Hadjipateras’ spouse, but the same amount of shares was then transferred to the LMG Trust. The beneficiary of the trust is one of their children. The CEO also holds a direct ownership stake of 2.28 million shares.

The shares of the owner and operator of very large gas carriers are up 7% in the past year, after having gained an impressive 66% in the past three months. The OPEC agreement reached last year to cut oil output and colder weather in Northern Asia and Europe appear to have positively impacted seaborne LPG trade and led to stronger demand for Dorian LPG Ltd (NYSE:LPG)’s vessels in recent months. The company’s revenues for the September quarter were $33.6 million, a decrease of 55.2% year-over-year. The decrease mainly reflects lower VLGC rates and vessel utilization. Michael Lowenstein’s Kensico Capital was the equity holder of 8.01 million shares of Dorian LPG Ltd (NYSE:LPG) at the end of the third quarter.

Let’s head to the next two pages of the article, where we will discuss noteworthy insider trading activity witnessed at four other companies.

Board Member of Mobile Content Provider Keeps Buying Shares

One member of Zedge Inc. (NYSEMKT:ZDGE)’s Board of Directors has been piling up shares consistently this January. Howard S. Jonas, the Vice Chairman of the company’s Board since mid-November 2016, purchased 8,098 Class B shares on Tuesday and 7,720 shares on Friday. In addition to the 7,720-share block, Mr. Jonas bought an additional 26,202 Class B shares last week. All the shares were purchased at prices that fell in the range of $3.16 and $3.23 per share. The Vice Chairman currently owns an aggregate of 237,906 Class B shares following the recent series of purchases.

Zedge Inc. (NYSEMKT:ZDGE) provides a content platform that enables users to personalize their mobile devices with free ringtones, wallpapers, home screen app icons and notification sounds. The mobile content provider has seen its shares drop by 30% since being spun-off by IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) during the summer. Unlike many other phone customization providers, Zedge has been mostly advertising supported as a huge portion of its revenue comes from direct advertising in its app. The company’s revenues for the three months that ended October 31 decreased by 6.9% year-over-year to $2.38 million due to a 10.7% decrease in average revenue per monthly active user. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC had approximately 273,000 shares of Zedge Inc. (NYSEMKT:ZDGE) in its portfolio at the end of September.

Cluster of Insider Selling at Yadkin Financial Before Closure of Its All-Stock Merger with FNB

Let’s now switch our attention to the insider selling at Yadkin Financial Corp (NYSE:YDKN). To start with, Board member David S. Brody sold an aggregate of 11,860 shares last week, shares held in the 1999 David Brody Living Trust, via Brody Associates LLC or the Ethel S. Brody Irrevocable GST Trusts for each of his three children. Mr. Brody also holds a direct ownership stake of 9,525 shares. Lead independent director J. Adam Abram discarded 28,437 shares on Friday at a price tag of $34.16 per share, trimming his ownership stake to 404,007 shares. Last but not least, Board member Steven J. Lerner offloaded 15,000 shares on Friday at a price of $34.35 per share, of which 10,000 shares were held by Lerner Family Irrevocable Trust that currently owns 11,429 shares. Dr. Lerner owns 6,520 shares directly following the recent sales.

In July 2016, Yadkin Financial Corp (NYSE:YDKN) agreed to be acquired by diversified financial services company F.N.B. Corp (NYSE:FNB). As the shareholders of both companies approved the all-stock merger in December, it is no surprise that insiders at Yadkin have been selling shares as of late. Under the terms of the agreement, Yadkin shareholders are set to receive 2.16 shares of FNB common stock at closure. The all-stock transaction is anticipated to close during the first quarter of this year. Anton Schutz’s Mendon Capital Advisors reported owning 1.37 million shares of Yadkin Financial Corp (NYSE:YDKN) in the 13F filing for the September quarter.

The last page of the article discusses fresh insider selling witnessed at two other companies.

Several Insiders at EFSC Offload Shares Before Earnings Release

Two insiders at Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) opted to trim their holdings of company stock earlier this week. Board member James J. Murthy Jr., former Non-Executive Chairman of the company’s Board, discarded 10,000 shares on Tuesday at a price of $38.50 per share, shares held through a gift trust that now owns 123,838 EFSC shares. Mr. Murthy also keeps 36,526 shares in a charitable remainder trust, as well as an additional 205 shares in another trust. More importantly, President and CEO Peter F. Benoist sold 15,000 shares on the same day at a price tag of $38.94 each, with the entire block of shares being formerly held in a trust fund that currently owns 113,756 shares. Mr. Benoist also owns a direct ownership stake of 107,459 shares.

Interestingly enough, the aforementioned insider selling comes shortly before the company operating commercial banking and wealth management businesses is set to release its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016 on January 23. Would the insiders sell shares if they knew Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) enjoyed a strong fourth quarter? Not likely! However, should the company release disappointing financial results that will be accompanied by a share price decline, regulators might want to look into the insider selling discussed above unless the insiders sold the shares in a pre-arranged fashion. Small-cap specialist Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, owned 241,500 shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) on September 30.

Board Member at Lakeland Industries Sells Shares Despite Share Price Underperformance

One member of Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE)’s boardroom also sold a couple thousand of shares this week. Board member Thomas J. McAteer liquidated 1,700 shares for $10.75 each and 1,300 shares at $10.80 apiece on Wednesday, cutting his overall holding to 58,277 shares. Chief Operating Officer Stephen M. Bachelder sold 3,129 shares last Monday at a weighted average price of $10.70 per share. Mr. Bachelder currently owns 60,119 shares after the not-so-distant sale.

Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE), which manufactures and sells a wide line of safety garments and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market, has seen its market cap drop by 10% in the past year. The company’s net sales for the three months that ended October 31 decreased to $23.2 million from $24.9 million, reflecting global softness in the industrial sector that partially resulted from a continuing downturn in the oil and gas industry. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC had 380,000 shares of Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) in its equity portfolio at the end of September.

Disclosure: None