Welcome to edition 115 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased slightly with insiders purchasing $57.63 million of their stock last week compared to $54.1 million in the week prior. Selling increased sharply with insiders selling $3.63 billion worth of stock last week compared to $1.1 billion in the week prior. The big jump in insider selling and hence the Sell/Buy ratio was primarily driven by large sales of Kinder Morgan (KMI) by Goldman Sachs and sales of Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN) by a group of private equity firms.
Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week increased to 63.08. In other words, insiders sold more than 63 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 20.5. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.
Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.
Notable Insider Buys:
1. Dole Food Company Inc. (DOLE): $12.77
Chairman David H. Murdock acquired 959,759 shares of this fresh fruits and vegetables producer, paying $12.46 per share for a total amount of $11.96 million.
Mr. Murdock has stepped up his purchases of Dole and now owns 63.5% of Dole’s outstanding stock. With profit margins below 1%, over $1.5 billion in net debt and trading at 9 times EBITDA, the stock isn’t exactly cheap.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Dole Food Company Inc. here.
P/E: 31.07 | Forward P/E: 8.99 | Industry P/E: 20.23 |
P/S: 0.16 | Price/Book: 1.24 | EV/EBITDA: 9.12 |
Market Cap: $1.12B | Avg. Daily Volume: 963,614 | 52 Week Range: $8.02 – $13.56 |
2. Equity One Inc. (EQY): $21.21
Chairman Chaim Katzman acquired 500,000 shares of this shopping center REIT, paying $21.20 per share for a total amount of $10.6 million.
These shares were acquired indirectly through MGN (USA) Inc. MGN USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazit-Globe. Mr. Katzman serves as the President and is one of the principal investors of Gazit-Globe. These shares were not acquired through an open market purchase but through a private placement.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Equity One Inc. here.
P/E: 205.92 | Forward P/E: 18.28 | Industry P/E: 36.4 |
P/S: 7.7 | Price/Book: 1.72 | EV/EBITDA: 21.6 |
Market Cap: $2.43B | Avg. Daily Volume: 528,197 | 52 Week Range: $14.57 – $22.16 |
3. United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL): $18.4
Shares of this airline were acquired by 6 insiders:
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United Continental Holdings, Inc. here.
P/E: 15.71 | Forward P/E: 3.57 | Industry P/E: 12.42 |
P/S: 0.16 | Price/Book: 3.72 | EV/EBITDA: 3.16 |
Market Cap: $6.12B | Avg. Daily Volume: 5,323,550 | 52 Week Range: $15.51 – $25.84 |
4. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $4.31
CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 305,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $4.22 per share for a total amount of $1.29 million.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Opko Health, Inc. here.
P/E: N/A | Forward P/E: N/A | Industry P/E: 16.66 |
P/S: 40.48 | Price/Book: 8.36 | EV/EBITDA: -52.55 |
Market Cap: $1.28B | Avg. Daily Volume: 1,098,580 | 52 Week Range: $3.52 – $5.85 |
5. E*TRADE Financial Corporation (ETFC): $8.57
Shares of this investment brokerage were acquired by 2 insiders:
Mr. Petrilli is the Chairman of the Board and is currently serving in the role of interim CEO after the company booted out its CEO two weeks ago.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for E*TRADE Financial Corporation here.
Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in E*Trade in my trading portfolio.
P/E: 15.04 | Forward P/E: 14.78 | Industry P/E: 20.47 |
P/S: 1.77 | Price/Book: 0.48 | EV/EBITDA: N/A |
Market Cap: $2.45B | Avg. Daily Volume: 5,739,620 | 52 Week Range: $7.08 – $12.45 |
You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.
Notable Insider Sales:
1. Google Inc. (GOOG): $677.14
Shares of Google were sold by 4 insiders:
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Google Inc. here.
P/E: 20.07 | Forward P/E: 13.72 | Industry P/E: 26.16 |
P/S: 5.1 | Price/Book: 3.4 | EV/EBITDA: 12.16 |
Market Cap: $221.45B | Avg. Daily Volume: 2,383,910 | 52 Week Range: $480.60 – $677.25 |
2. AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX): $40.62
Executive Chairman Charles F. Dolan sold 1,750,000 shares of this cable TV channel operator for $41.38, generating $72.41 million from the sale.
These shares were sold following the conversion of class B shares to class A shares. According to a press release issued by the company, these shares were sold for “liquidity and tax planning purposes”.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for AMC Networks Inc. here.
P/E: 19 | Forward P/E: 13.82 | Industry P/E: 16.4 |
P/S: 2.29 | Price/Book: N/A | EV/EBITDA: 10.06 |
Market Cap: $2.91 B | Avg. Daily Volume: 451,181 | 52 Week Range: $30.51 – $46.69 |
3. Equity One Inc. (EQY): $21.21
Director Nathan Hetz sold 1,000,000 shares of this shopping center REIT for $21.03, generating $21.03 million from the sale.
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Equity One Inc. here.
P/E: 205.92 | Forward P/E: 18.28 | Industry P/E: 36.4 |
P/S: 7.7 | Price/Book: 1.72 | EV/EBITDA: 21.6 |
Market Cap: $2.43B | Avg. Daily Volume: 528,197 | 52 Week Range: $14.57 – $22.16 |
4. Middleby Corp. (MIDD): $117.68
Shares of this commercial food equipment company company were sold by 2 insiders:
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Middleby Corp. here.
P/E: 19.62 | Forward P/E: 16.86 | Industry P/E: 12.61 |
P/S: 2.29 | Price/Book: 3.85 | EV/EBITDA: 13.07 |
Market Cap: $2.2 B | Avg. Daily Volume: 103,951 | 52 Week Range: $65.39 – $119.74 |
5. Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI): $58.65
Shares of this television and internet businesses operator were sold by 6 insiders:
You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Scripps Networks Interactive here.
P/E: 18.86 | Forward P/E: 15.43 | Industry P/E: N/A |
P/S: 3.98 | Price/Book: 5.93 | EV/EBITDA: 9.8 |
Market Cap: $8.74 B | Avg. Daily Volume: 1,009,080 | 52 Week Range: $35.44 – $61.17 |
You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.