Insider Weekends – November 25, 2011

Welcome to edition seventy seven of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased significantly with insiders purchasing $130.9 million of their stock last week compared to $40.99 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand dropped with insiders selling $736.9 million worth of stock last week compared to $909.37 million in the week prior.

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 dropped to 5.6. In other words, insiders sold more than 5 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the week prior when the ratio stood at 22.2. 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 Introduction to Insider Weekends, 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. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY): $11.9

EVP Anthony M. Tang acquired 402,330 shares of this regional bank, paying $12.72 per share for a total amount of $5.1 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Tang’s spouse.

This Los Angeles based regional bank with $10.5 billion in assets trades for 0.81 times its tangible book value. The bank’s Troubled Asset Ration (TAR) has been falling for several quarters and currently is 22.7.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cathay General Bancorp here.

2. Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO): $18.05

Chairman of the Board Harold C. Simmons acquired 167,666 shares of this titanium dioxide producer, paying $17.88 per share for a total amount of $2.9 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Simmons’s spouse.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Kronos Worldwide Inc. here.

3. Federal-Mogul Corp. (FDML): $13.27

Director Carl C. Icahn acquired 165,040 shares of this auto parts manufacturer, paying $13.76 per share for a total amount of $2.3 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Icahn Enterprises Holdings L.P.

Mr. Icahn has continued his periodic purchases of Federal-Mogul. Following his purchases in August we wrote, “A few months ago, Mr. Icahn, who owns a majority stake in Federal-Mogul, was planning on selling his stake when the stock was trading at about $24. With the recent drop in the stock price, the company is trading just below book value and it is interesting to see him turn around and start buying stock on the open market.

The company emerged out of bankruptcy in 2008 and has been performing quite well with both top and bottom line growth over the last several quarters. The company has a forward PE of just 5.67 but margins are slim, inventory has been growing and the company has $1.85 billion in net debt on the balance sheet.”

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Federal-Mogul Corp. here.

4. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (HALO): $8.1

Director Randal J. Kirk acquired 277,723 shares of this biotech company, paying $8.03 per share for a total amount of $2.2 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Kapital Joe.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. here.

5. Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG): $9.79

Shares of this oil tanker company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Charles Fribourg acquired 193,000 shares, paying $10.68 per share for a total amount of $2,.1 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through an entity.
• Director Michael J. Zimmerman acquired 5,000 shares, paying $10.23 per share for a total amount of $51,130. Mr. Zimmerman increased his stake by 35.71% to 19,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Intuit Inc. (INTU): $49.27

Shares of this accounting and tax software company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of Exec. Committee Scott D. Cook sold 518,360 shares for $50.72, generating $26.3 million from the sale.
• EVP, Small Business Group Kiran M. Patel sold 100,000 shares for $50.68, generating $5.1 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Intuit Inc. here.

2. FTI Consulting, Inc. (FCN): $40.04

Shares of this business advisory company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board Dennis J. Shaughnessy sold 61,274 shares for $41.31, generating $2.5 million from the sale.
• Director Matthew F. Mchugh sold 5,300 shares for $42.79, generating $226,775 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for FTI Consulting, Inc. here.

3. Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC): $14.13

Chairman & CEO Ronald N. Tutor sold 150,000 shares of this construction services company for $15.99, generating $2.4 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Tutor Perini Corporation here.

4. Responsys, Inc. (MKTG): $8.15

Shares of this application software company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Daniel D. Springer sold 220,264 shares for $8.40, generating $1,850,218 from the sale.
• SVP, Product John Berkley sold 14,000 shares for $8.88, generating $124,363 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Christian A. Paul sold 5,000 shares for $8.90, generating $44,485 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Responsys, Inc. here.

5. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD): $83.44

Shares of this independent oil & gas company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director R Hartwell Gardner sold 15,000 shares for $91.92, generating $1.4 million from the sale.
• Director Andrew D. Lundquist sold 2,208 shares for $88.09, generating $194,511 from the sale.
• President & COO Timothy L. Dove sold 400 shares for $92.14, generating $36,856 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Pioneer Natural Resources Co. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.