Insider Weekends – October 11, 2013

Welcome to edition 173 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased with insiders purchasing $26.05 million of their stock last week compared to $40.08 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased sharply with insiders selling $229.99 million of stock last week compared to $1.08 billion in the week prior. As we enter earnings season, we are likely to see light insider buying and selling for the next couple of weeks.

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 8.83. In other words, insiders sold about 9 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 26.96. 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. Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM): $67

Director Robert D. Walter acquired 20,000 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $66.09 per share for a total amount of $1.32 million. Mr. Walter increased his stake by 22.65% to 108,301 shares with this purchase.

This purchase follows a sharp decline in Yum’s stock last week after the company reported third quarter earnings that plunged 68% (before one-time items) on account of weak sales in China.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Yum! Brands, Inc. here.

2. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $10.07

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 49,400 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $9.52 per share for a total amount of $470,413. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

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

3. Marlin Midstream Partners, LP (FISH): $18.13

Director and CEO Keith W. Maxwell III acquired 7,500 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company, paying $17.87 per share for a total amount of $134,058. Mr. Maxwell increased his stake by 29.18% to 33,200 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Marlin Midstream Partners, LP here.

4. Argan, Inc. (AGX): $21.56

Director William F. Leimkuhler acquired 4,000 shares of this infrastructure company, paying $21.23 per share for a total amount of $84,903. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

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

5. Pizza Inn Holdings, Inc. (PZZI): $8.16

President & CEO Randall E. Gier acquired 11,300 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $7.48 per share for a total amount of $84,524. Mr. Gier increased his stake by 60.43% to 30,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Pizza Inn Holdings, Inc. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. The Washington Post Company (WPO): $618.61

Director Katharine Weymouth sold 11,008 shares of this newspaper publishing company for $616.48, generating $6.79 million from the sale. 4,750 of 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 The Washington Post Company here.

2. Sapient Corp. (SAPE): $15.5

Director Stuart J. Moore sold 200,000 shares of this business software & services company for $15.53, generating $3.11 million from the sale. 81,200 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Sapient Corp. here.

3. Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA): $19.51

Shares of this teen and women’s apparel retailer were sold by 2 insiders:

• CEO, Tween Brands, Inc. Michael W. Rayden sold 77,738 shares for $20.52, generating $1.59 million from the sale.
• SVP, Chief Accounting Officer Jay S. Levine sold 40,000 shares for $19.41, generating $776,304 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. here.

4. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CBI): $71.05

Shares of this provider of engineering and construction services were sold by 4 insiders:

• Executive Vice President Beth A. Bailey sold 12,500 shares for $69.83, generating $872,822 from the sale.
• Executive Vice President & CFO Ronald A. Ballschmiede sold 10,000 shares for $70.07, generating $700,656 from the sale.
• Executive Vice President Daniel M. McCarthy sold 7,142 shares for $70.04, generating $500,205 from the sale.
• VP, Controller, CAO Westley S. Stockton sold 3,000 shares for $70.07, generating $210,224 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 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. here.

5. Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI): $60.23

Chairman and CEO Richard A. Noll sold 30,000 shares of this apparel chain for $59.15, generating $1.77 million from the sale.

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

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